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a. 







1 



HISTORY 



OF 



CAMBRIDGE 

MASSACHUSETTS 

(1630-1913) 

BY 

SAMUEL ATKINS ELIOT, A.M., D.D. 



TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHIES OF 
CAMBRIDGE PEOPLE 



T^CAmbridgeTribune 

HARVARD SQUARE 

(36 BOYLSTON STREET) 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS 

1913 



COPYRIGHT 1913 
BY 

THE CAMBRIDGE TRIBUNE 



DEC 29 1913 



-ci.A3Gio;n 









PREFACE 

"Of the making of books there is no end," and, while histories are issued 
less frequently than books of fiction, travel or science, still the publication of a 
work of this nature requires little in the way of an introductory notice. Cambridge 
is rich in historical material— not only the history of the dim, distant past, but 
the histor>' of the present, for it must be borne in mind that the future of tomorrow 
quickly becomes the present of today, even more swiftly to fade into the past of 
yesterday. Indeed, we are constantly making history, and who knows with what 
interest the readers of the next century will peruse the record of this very day 
and hour? It has been so long since a history of Cambridge was published— 
neariy forty years, in fact— that it seems proper at this time to bring out a work 
which shall present to strangers and information-seekers a true record of the 
Cambridge of the past and of the present, while at the same time giving to the 
residents of the city and those who are familiar with its traditions and institutions 
a volume which will furnish accurate information and, at the same time, inter- 
esting reading. In this volume the emphasis has been placed upon the quaUty 
of the men and women who have made the renown of Cambridge rather than upon 
the chronology of its history or the record of the passing day. While neglecting 
no important movement or occasion, the present writer has tried primarily to 
describe the purposes and accomplishments of the people who composed the 
town and to depict the minds and characters of the Cambridge citizens whose 
lives, whether famous or obscure, have made the events possible and carried the 
hopes of each generation toward fulfilment. 

J. Lee Robinson. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



I 

THI': FOUNDATIONS 

Introductory — Arrival of Governor John Winthrop and his company in Massachusetts Bay — Settlement at 
Charlestovvn and the organization of the first church — Scarcity of water causes the settlers to disperse — Boston 
settled and named — The search for a position less open to attack results in the choice of Newtowne— Thomas 
Dudley and other early inhabitants — The Braintri'e company — The original town — The Rev. Thomas 
Shepard and his flock — The founding of Harvard College 9-15 

II 

THE FOUNDERS 

The English Puritans — Thomas Dudley; his family; his military career and connection with the courts; his con- 
temporaries — Political and religious unrest in England — Dudley and the Earl of Lincoln — Protestants, op- 
pressed in England, meet with reverses on the Continent — The Puritans at a conference at Cambridge, Eng- 
land, decide to emigrate to America — The twelve signers — The Massachusetts Bay Company — The Puritan 
exodus — Thomas Hooker; his career in England — He arrives at Newtown and becomes pastor — Thomas 
Shepard and his troubles in England — Shepard minister of a new church at Newtowne — Qualities of Dudley, 
Hooker and Shejiard 16-23 

III 

THE CHURCH 

The great aim of the settlers — The first meeting-house — The gathering of February 11, 16,36 — Winthrop, 
Dudley, Vane and other notable men present — Shepard chosen pastor — How the question of a new form of 
church government worked out in New England — Nearly all the first ministers originally ordained clergymen 
of the Church of England — The New England churches, at first independent, drawn into close alliance — 
The development of Congregationalism and its adoption to the new life of the Western Continent 24—29 

IV 

THE COLLEGE 

The colonists desire to advance education — The General Court votes four hundred pounds towards a college — 
Newtowne selected for the site and renamed Cambridge — A committee chosen and the erection of a building 
begun — Description of the edifice — John Harvard; his family and education — He comes to America — His 
early death — His bequest to Harvard — Gifts from others — The first Ijook in America is printed — President 
Dunster — The first Commencement and the first graduat <s — Board of Ov:r3e:?r3 established and the Charter 
granted .' 30-37 

V 

THE COLONY 

Massachusetts in 1641 — Independence of the colony and its efficient government — The Charter— The first 
session of the General Court held at Boston — The attempt to limit the franchise to church members — Wide- 
spread misunderstanding of the motives of the founders of Massachusetts — Roger Williams — Anne 
Hutchinson — Re-election of Winthrop and return of Vane to England— The Charter saved by Winthrop's 
management — The "Body of Liberties" — The New England Confederation 38-45 

VI 

THE COMMUNITY 

The original Newtowne and its subsequent enlargement— The militarj' force — Picture of Cambridge in the latter 
half of the seventeenth centurv— Important houses and estates— The "Printery"— Manners and customs 
— Interest in education and influence of the ministers — President Dunster's heresy and that of Benanuel 
Bower~A dwelling-house for the minister built at public expense— Dr. Chauncy— Daniel Gookin— Re- 
lations with the Indians— John Eliot— Thomas Danforth — The Charter revoked— The royal Prov^ne€ of 
Massachiisetts 46-56 



VII 
THE V^ILLAGE 
Increase in prosperity — Influence of the College — A new Harvard Hall built in 1682 — -The College described 
by two Dutch travelers — Increase Mather made president; his personality — New buildings begin to appear — 
Record of those who graduated during Mather's presidency — Jolm Leverelt president — Benjamin Wads- 
worth — Edward Holyokc — Harvard Hall burnt ami the present l)uilding erected on the old site — Story 
of the Cambridge Church — William Brattle's pastorate — Nathan Appleton — A new Parsonage built — 
George Whitefield and his controversy with the College — The fourth meeting-house built — A new element 
comes into Cambridge life with the advent of families of wealth — -Christ Church is built for tlie Episco- 
palians — Several distinguished lawyers — The village as it appeared just before the Revolution 57-75 

VIII 
THE SIEGE 
Discontent with the British government — The Stamp Act and the Taxation Act — Committees of Correspondence 
formed — Coercive measures and the appointment of General Gage as military governor — His acts lead to 
riotous scenes in Cambridge — The Massachusetts Assembly meets at Salem, adjourns first to Concord, then 
to Cambridge, and votes that military preparations be made — The 19th of April, 1775 — The Cambridge Train 
band^Combat at Menolomy and North Cambridge — Cambridge men who lost their lives — The days 
following the battle of Lexington see Cambridge filled with American fighting men — Flight of the loyalists; 
their fate — The besieging force — The battle of Bunker Hill; Colonel Thomas Gardner's death — Washington, 
selected as general-in-chief by the Continental Congress, comes to Cambridge and takes command of the 
aniiy under the great elm — Famous Revolutionary officers and public men at Cambridge during the siege — 
Raw troops drilled and forts built — Slow progress of the siege — Treason of Church — The British evacuate 
Boston and American troops take possession 76-89 

IX 
THE TOWN 
Cambridge after the siege — A list of patriot soldiers — General Burgoyne and the troops that surrendered with 
him detained at Cambridge — The Constitution of Massachusetts framed in the meeting-house — Washington 
revisits the town — Visit of Lafayette — Development of the eastern part of the town — The purchasers of the 
Tory estates— The West Boston Bridge opened for travel — Effect of the Embargo Act and the War of 1812 on 
Cambridge — Dowell's description of the town in 1824 — Andrew Craigie and East Cambridge — Harvard 
Square and its environs in the early part of the nineteenth century — The old meeting-house and new churches 
— Wadsworth House — The College Yard — The dormitories— Student life — The old Court House — Note- 
worthy houses — "Tory Row" — Birthplace of Oliver Wendell Holmes — "Professors' Row" — Margaret Fuller 
— Washington AUston— Nathaniel F. Wycth — President Kirkland — Josiah Quincy— Famous College pro- 
fessors—Judge Joseph Story— Theologians— Edward Everett, John Quincy Adams and John S. Popkin — 
Three presidents; Sparks, Walker and Fclton — Francis Sales — Charles Pollen — Louis Agassiz; his scientific 
enthusiasm— The himible beginnings of the Museum of Comparative Zoology— Debt of Cambridge to 
Agassiz — What Darwin said of him — Mount Auburn 90-1 16 

X 

THE CITY 

Cambridge receives a City Charter— Needs of the young city — The new city government — Causes of the 
growth of Cambridge — Boston merchants and professional men residents — Influence of the University — 
Reasons for the number of factories — Characteristic industries — The water- works — Cambridge public schools; 
Private schools; Professional schools — Cambridge a great center for the education of ministers— Radclifife 
College — Parks and playgrounds — Churches and charitable institutions — Banking and public service cor- 
porations— Frederick H. Rindge and his gifts to the city; Public Library, Manual Training School, High 
and Latin Schools, City Hall — The population doubled in thirty years — Cambridge patriotism — Loyalty of 
Cambridge people to their city — James Russell Lowell — Richard Henry Dana — Charles Eliot Norton — 
Noted men of letters — Longfellow; his life in Cambridge — William Dean Howell's account of his Cam- 
bridge neighbors— John Fiske — Henry James and his sons— Joseph E. Worcester, the lexicographer, and 
William E. Rolfe, the Shakespearean scholar — Other leaders in science and literature — Emerson 1 17-138 

XI 

THE OUTLOOK 
Prestige of Cambridge — Cambridge compared with other American cities — Problems of public service — Ad- 
ministration — Cambridge fortunate in the plan and names of the streets — Necessity for care in the develop- 
ment of the newer parts of the city — The main highways and the amount of traffic carried— Schools and 
libraries — Police and fire departments — Health statistics — Water supply — Hospitals — Topography of the 
city — The Charles River — Parkway development — The approaches to the city from Boston — Question of 
new bridges — City planning — Playgrounds — Growing density of population and the problems resulting 
therefrom — Civic spirit of Cambridge 140-153 

Biographies 156-272 

The Widener Library 273-276 

Educational 277-281 

Financial 282-287 

Industrial 288-305 

Index 306-308 



A HISTORY 



OF 



CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



THE FOUNDATIONS 



CAMBRIDGE is an interesting place in 
which to live, because it is hallowed by 
so many heroic memories. There is a 
good background of inspiring tradition. The 
very dust is eloquent of the long procession 
of saints and sages, soldiers, scholars and 
poets, whose works and words have made the 
renown of the place. The names of the Cam- 
bridge streets and schools recall its historic 
associations and its former inhabitants. Win- 
throp, Dudley, Endicott and Eliot Streets 
commemorate the foimders of the Massa- 
chusetts Colony. The names of Washington 
and Green, Prescott and Putnam, recall the 
times when those patriot soldiers commanded 
the revolutionary army here at the siege of 
Boston. Hancock, EUery and Gerry Streets 
are named for signers of the Declaration of 
Independence who lived in Cambridge or had 
close associations with the town. The streets 
named for the Cambridge families of the period 
before the Revolutionary War, such as Vassall, 
Oliver, Inman, Dana, Danforth, Lee, Trow- 
bridge, Remington and Brattle, recall the 
Tory gentry who made the town the center 
of an abundant hospitality, and who main- 
tained a genial social life, whose memories 
still linger in the beautiful homes they left 
behind them. There are streets named for 
the college presidents, Dimster, Chatmcy, 
Wadsworth, Holyoke, Willard, Langdon, 
Kirkland, Quincy, Sparks, Everett, Felton 
and Walker; and for distinguished college 
professors like Ware, Channing, Story, Bond, 
Farrar, Francis, Frisbie, Follen, Gurney and 
Peabody. Shepard Street is named for the 



first pastor of the First Church. Appleton 
Street recalls the name of Nathaniel Appleton, 
who was minister of the same church for more 
than fifty years. Allston Street takes its 
name from the famous Cambridge-bom painter, 
Washington Allston, and Lowell Street and 
Holmes Place from the two Cambridge-born 
poets. Riedesel Avenue reminds us of the 
time when the German troops captured at 
Saratoga were quartered in Cambridge. The 
streets named Craigie, Fayerwcather, Coolidge, 
Gushing, Wyeth, Brewster, Hastings and 
Sidney, tell us of the local worthies who de- 
veloped the town. The names of Decatur, 
Perry, Lawrence, Erie and Niagara recall the 
times of the War of 1S12, and the names of 
Grant, Andrew, Banks, Ericsson, Sherman 
and Sheridan arouse the stirring memories 
of the period of the Civil War. The names 
of Garfield and Cleveland, of Washburn and 
Greenhalge, of Russell, Houghton, Allen and 
Bancroft remind us of more recent leaders 
in the nation, the Commonwealth and the 
citv. Waterhouse Street and Wyman Square 
are named for distinguished Cambridge physi- 
cians, Agassiz and Gray for the great scientists 
who made Camljridge famous by their presence 
and their work, and Longfellow Park for the 
beloved poet who made Cambridge his home. 
Then there are the streets that remind us of 
the landmarks of the iilace: Harvard Street, 
leading to the College Yard; Divinity Avenue, 
to the Divinity School: Garden Street, leading 
to the Botanic Garden, which is appropriately 
bordered on the south by a street named for 
the great botanist, Linnaeus. Arsenal Square 



10 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



4 



marks where the State Arsenal used to stand; 
Magazine Street leads to where the powder 
was once kept on Captain's Island; Reservoir 
Street recalls the former site of the City Reser- 
voir; Bridge Street marks the line of the old 
bridge to Charlcstown. It is not likely that 



of KiiJO was a great event in human history. 
It was no uncertain adventure. It was 
the pitrpose of those who had engaged 
in the enterprise to make their final home 
in the wilderness and to devote their lives 
to the establishment on the shores of Mass- 





L/6^// 



V- 



in any^but an academic community we should 
find streets called after the colleges, Oxford, 
Cambridge, Amherst, Bowdoin, Vassar and 
Wellesley, or bearing such classic designations 
as Athens Cotirt and iVppian Way. 

The arrival in Massachusetts Bay of Governor 
John Winthrop and his company in Jime 



achusctts Bay of a permanent Christian Com- 
monwealth. 

The first settlement of the newcomers was 
on the point at the junction of the river Charles 
and the river Mystic, where Charlcstown now 
stands. Here, in the course of the summer, 
houses were built and here the First Church 
was gathered. We can picture the scene at 



THE FOUNDATIONS 



11 



the gathering for public worship. The minister 
stood on the hillside, beneath the trees heavy 
with summer foliage, and before him on stiimps 
and logs and rudely improvised seats sat 
the leaders of the colony and their families, — 
the Governor, John Winlhrop; the Deputy- 
Governor, Thomas Dudley; the Assistants, 
Sir Richard Saltonstall, Isaac Johnson, Roger 
Ludlow, Increase Nowell, William Pynchon 
and Simon Bradstreet; and liehind them, 
sitting or standing in groups, the heroic 
people who had joined their fortunes to 
the enterprise. The preacher's vision took 
in the sunny stretches of the harbor, dotted 
with the islands which still bore the prime- 
val forests. To the right, across the river, 
rose the three hills of Tri Mountain where 
Boston now stands. To the left, across the 
Mystic, were spread the broad salt marshes, 
and behind rose the hill where nearly a 
century and one-half later the descendants of 
these people were to defy the powers of the 
motherland. 

It was here at Charlestown that the charac- 
teristic organization of these Puritan emigrants, 
their religious societ}', now the First Church 
of Boston, was organized on the 27th of 
August, liV.iO, and the following covenant, 
which simply set forth their motive and jnir- 
pose, was adopted: 

" In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and in Obedience to His Holy will and Divine 
Ordinance, — 

"We whose names are hereunder written, 
being by His most wise and good Providence 
brought together into this part of America 
in the Bay of Massachusetts, and desiroiis to 
unite ourselves into one congregation or Church, 
imder the Lord Jesus Christ our Head, in such 
sort as becometh all those whom lie hath 
Redeemed and Sanctified to Himself, do hereby 
solemnly and religiotisly (as in His most holy 
Presence) Promise and bind ourselves to walk 
in all our ways according to the Rule of the 
Gospel, and in all sincere Conformity to His 
holy Ordinances, and in mutual love and respect 
each to other, so near as God shall give us 
grace." Under this Covenant we read in 
Winthrop's Journal, "We of the congregation 
kept a fast and chose Mr. Wilson oiir teacher 
and Mr. No well an elder." 



The water stipply at Charlestown proved 
inadequate or imhcalthy, and the people, 
during the summer, scattered more or less in 
search of more desirable locations. Then it 
was that William Blackstone, who had for 
some years been living a hermit life on the 
western slope of what is now Beacon Mill, 
invited Governor W'inthrop to settle on his 
side of the river and showed him an excellent 
spring of water, whereupon Winthrop and 
other leaders moved thither, planted the future 
capital of the Commonwealth, and there 
])assed the first winter. 

Thomas Dudley later described the dispersal 
of the colonists as follows: 

"But there (at Charlestown), receiving 
advertisements by some of the late-arrived 
ships, from Lincoln and Amsterdam, of some 
French preparations against us (many of our 
people brought with us being sick of fevers and 
the scurvy, and we thereby unable to carry 
up our ordnance and baggage so far), we were 
forced to change counsel, and for our present 
shelter to plant dispersedly, some at Charles- 
town, which standeth on the north side of the 
mouth of Charles River; some on the south 
side thereof, which place we named Boston 
(as we intended to have done the place we first 
resolved on) ; some of us upon Mystick, which 
we named Medford; some of us westwards on 
Charles River, four miles from Charlestown, 
which place we nained W^atertown; others 
upon the river of Saugus, between Salem and 
Charlestown; and the western men four miles 
south from I^oston, at a place we named 
Dorchester. This dispersion troubled some 
of us; but help it we could not, wanting ability 
to remove to any place fit to build a town upon, 
and the time too short to deliberate any longer, 
lest the winter should surprise us before we 
had builded our houses." 

W^hile Boston was clearly marked for promi- 
nence in the colony because of its geographical 
position, there was not at first the intention 
to make it the seat of government. It was 
too open to attack from the sea. A position 
farther inland could be more easily defended, 
not indeed from the Indians, but from the 
enemy more to be dreaded— the warships of 
an irate and hostile motherland. Accordingly, 
Governor Winthrop and his Assistants, on 



12 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



one of the autumn days after they had estab- 
lished themselves at Boston, rowed three or 
four miles up the Charles River behind Boston 
until they came to a meadow gently sloping 
to the riverside, backed by roimded hills and 
protected by wide-spreading salt marshes. 
This, wrote Winthrop, seemed to all "a fit 
place for a fortified town, and we took time 
to consider further about it." To quote the 
old chronicle written by Edward Johnson 
in l(i54 and called "The Wonderworking 
Providence of Sion's Saviour in New England," 
"They rather made choice to enter further 
among the Indians than to hazard the fury 
of malignant adversaries who might pursue 
them, and therefore chose a place situated 
upon Charles River, between Charlestown and 
Watertown, where they erected a towne called 
Newtowne, and where they gathered the 8th 
Church of Christ." 

Thomas Dudley, describing these events 
in his famous letter to the Cotmtess of Lincoln, 
says, "We began again to consult about a fit 
place to build a town upon, leaving all thoughts 
of a fort, because upon any invasion we were 
necessarily to lose our houses when we should 
retire thereinto. So after diverse meetings at 
Boston, Roxbury and WatertOwn, on the 
twenty-eighth of December (1630), we grew 
to this resolution, to bind all assistants (Mr. 
Endicott and Mr. Sharpe excepted, which last 
purposeth to return by the next ship to Eng- 
land) to build houses at a place a mile east from 
Watertown, near Charles River, the next 
spring, and to winter there the next year; 
that so by our examples, and by removing the 
ordnance and munition thither, all who were 
able might be drawn thither, and such as shall 
come to us hereafter, to their advantage, be 
compelled so to do; and so, if God would, a 
fortified town might there grow up." 

According to this agreement, the Governor, 
John Winthrop, the Deputy-Governor, Thomas 
Dudley, and all the councillors, except John 
Endicott, who had already settled at Salem, 
were to btuld and occupy hotises at Newtowne 
in the spring of Ki^l, but this agreement was 
never carried out. Winthrop, Dudley and 
Bradstreet built their houses, and the General 
Ccvrt of the colony met alternately at New- 
towne and at Boston tmtil KioS, when it 



finally settled in Boston. Winthrop removed 
his house to Boston, thereby stirring up a 
controversy with Dudley which was never 
completely healed, and the other leaders of 
the colony settled elsewhere. 

The inhabitants of the Newtowne during 
the first year of its existence probably did not 
number more than ten families, yet there were 
enough men to be noted in an order of the Court 
on July 2(), 1631, reqturing military training. 
In the "Towne Book" there are recorded the 
names of eight heads of families living in what 
is now Old Cambridge, in the summer of 1G31. 
They are "Mr. Thomas Dudley, Esq., Mr. 
Symon Bradstreet, Mr. Edmond Lockwood, 
Mr. Daniell Patrick, John Poole, William Spen- 
cer, John Kirman, Symon Sackett." 

Of these eight persons who laid the founda- 
tion of the Newtowne, Thomas Dudley was 
the leader. He was the first Deputy-Governor 
of the Colony, became Governor in 1631, and 
was either Governor, Deputy-Governor, or 
Assistant, during the remainder of his life. 
In 1630 he removed from Cambridge to Ipswich. 
Later he removed again to Roxbury, where he 
died July 31, 1653. Simon Bradstreet was 
an Assistant from 1630 to 1678; Deputy-Gov- 
ernor in 1678; Governor from 1679 to 1686, 
and from 1689 to 1692. He removed to 
Ipswich with Dudley, whose daughter was 
his wife; was afterwards in Andover for a 
short time; then in Boston until September 
18, 1()95, when he removed to Salem, and died 
there, March 27, 1697. Edmond Lockwood 
was evidently a man of substance for he was 
appointed by the General Court Constable of 
the Newtowne at its organization, and at the 
same session was selected as one of the two 
deputies of the town to the General Court. He 
died before March, 1635. Daniel Patrick had 
been a soldier in the guard of the Prince of 
Orange and was one of the two captains origi- 
nally appointed to command the militia of 
the Colony. He served three months in the 
Pequot War and performed other military 
duties. In l(i37 he planned to follow Dudley 
and Bradstreet to Ipswich, but seems rather 
to have gone to Watertown, where he was a 
Selectman in 1638. He afterwards removed 
to Connecticut, and was killed in a quarrel 
with Dutch traders at Stamford in 1643. The 



THE FOUxXDATIONS 



13 



name of "Captain's Island" at the foot of 
Magazine Street preserves his memory. John 
I'oole probably remained in the Newtowne 
only a few months, as he is not named in the 
list of proprietors in l();5o. lie appears after- 
wards as a citizen of Lynn and he died at 
Reading, April 1, l(i()7. William Spencer 
was one of the "principal gentlemen." He 
was associated with Mr. Lockwood in l()o'2, 
as the first deputy of the town and continued 
to serve until ll);57. He was one of the first 
Board of Selectmen in l()3o; the lieutenant 
of the trainband in 1037, a member of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company 
at its organization in llJoi), and he died in 1040. 
John Kirman removed to Lynn in 1().S2, and 
was a deputy from that place in Kioo. Simon 
Sackett died before November 3d, Ki.'Jo, when 
administration was granted to his widow, 
Isabell Sackett. 

In the spring of 16o2 the settlement received 
a great addition to its population. The 
Puritan congregation of Braintree, in Essex, 
England, had emigrated in a body, and were 
soon followed by their famoxxs minister, Thomas 
Hooker, afterwards the founder of Connecticut 
and the man who first visioned and did much 
to make possible oiir American democracy. 
The Braintree company first located at Motmt 
Wollaston biit soon removed to the New- 
towne, raising the population to some four 
himdred souls. House lots were laid out 
compacth', and farming and grazing lands 
assigned to each household. Riiles were 
adopted for the well-being of the community. 
Town meetings were provided for on the first 
Monday of each month and at the first of these 
meetings it was ordered, "that no person \vhat- 
ever (shall set) up any house in the bounds 
of this town (without) leave from the major 
part. 

" Further, it is agreed, b\- a joint consent 
(that the) town shall not be enlarged until 
all (the vacant) places be filled with houses. 

" Further, it is agreed, that all the houses 
(within) the bounds of the town shall be 
covered (\vith) slate or board, and not with 
thatch. 

"Further, it is ordered, that all (the houses 
shall) range even, and stand just six (feet on 
each man's) own groimd from the street." 



These regulations appear to have been suc- 
cessful, for in 1G33 a traveller, the author of 
"New England's Prospect," described the 
village as "one of the neatest and best com- 
pacted towns in New England, having many 
structures, with many handsome contrived 
streets. The inhabitants, most of them, are 
rich and well stored with cattle of all sorts." 
This is doubtless an extravagant picture and 
true only in comparison with some of the 
neighboring plantations which were not so 
favorably situated. So primitive was the 
place that Thomas Dudley, the chief man of 
the town, writing home, could say, " I have no 
table or any place to write in than by the 
fireside on my knee." 

The original "town was all contained within 
the small section between Harvard Square 
and the river, from Holyoke Street on the east 
to Brattle Square on the west. By Kil?.'), the 
streets, now called Mount Auburn, Winthrop, 
South, Holjoke, Dunster and Boylston, had 
come into existence within these limits, and 
there were some eighty-five dwelling-hoiises. 
The meeting-house, built of rough-hewn boards 
with the crevices sealed with mud, stood at 
the crossing of the road with the path that led 
down to the river, where there was a ladder 
for the convenience of a landing. The north- 
em frontier street, upon the line of Massa- 
chusetts Avenue and Harvard Square, was 
called Braintree Street. The road upon the 
site of what is now Brattle Square was known 
as Creek Lane, and it was continued in a south- 
easterly sweep into Boylston Street by Marsh 
Lane, afterwards called Eliot Street. On the 
north side of Braintree Street, opposite Dunster, 
and thence eastward about as far as Linden 
Street, stood a row of houses, and at their 
back, where the College Yard now is, was the 
forest. Through this forest ran the trail or 
path from Charlestown to Watertown, which 
coincided pretty closely with the line of Kirk- 
land, Mason, Brattle, Elmwood and Mount 
Auburn Streets. This was the first path from 
the seaboard into the inland country. It 
followed the windings of river and marsh. A 
pali.saded wall, with a ditch, for defense against 
Indians and wolves, started at "Windmill 
Hill," or the present site of Ash Street, and ran 
along the western and northern sides of the 



14 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



present Common. The common grazing-land 
covered the site of the Common, and extended 
beyond the palisade as far as Linnaean Street. 

Eastward from Holyoke(then called Crooked) 
Street ran Back Lane, while Braintree Street, 
deflecting southeastward, took the name of 
Field Lane. These two lanes, meeting near 
the present junction of Bow and Arrow Streets, 
formed the "highway into the Neck." "The 
Neck," was a name for the territory now cov- 
ered by Cambridgeport and East Cambridge. 
It was largely a salt marsh but the arable land 
was parceled otit among the inhabitants in 
severalty. The western part was cut up into 
small portions of from one to three acres, but 
to the eastward of the site of Hancock Street 
it was granted in large tracts 6f from twenty 
to sixty acres. This region of the Neck was 
marked off and protected by a fence which 
ran — to use modem names — from Holyoke 
Place to Gore Hall, and thence to the line 
between Cambridge and Somerville at Line 
Street near Cambridge Street. "Thus we 
find," said John Fiske, "in the beginnings of 
Cambridge clear traces of the ancient English 
method of forming a town, with its threefold 
partition into town mark, arable mark, and 
common." 

A little later a second arable portion was 
inclosed between Garden Street and Vassall 
Lane, westward from Wyeth Street to Fresh 
Pond meadows; this was known as the "West 
Field." Another farming region, a little to 
the north of the Palfrey estate on Oxford 
Street, was known as "Pine Swamp Field." 
Extensive marshes stretched along the bank 
of the river from the vicinity of Mount Auburn 
to East Cambridge. Along the west side of 
Brattle Square ran a small creek, which curved 
southwestward through the marshes. This 
creek, deepened and widened into a canal, 
furnished access to the Town from the river, 
and at its mouth a ferry was established in 
1635, connecting with a road on the sotith bank 
through Brookline and Roxbury to Boston 
Neck. The only other communication with 
Boston was by river or over the trail to Charles- 
town and thence by ferry to Copp's Hill. No 
bridge was built until as late as 1662 when 
the "Great Bridge" — now the Boylston Street 
Bridge — was completed. 



The Braintree company lingered long enough 
at Newtowne to get their houses built and their 
farms broken, but then determined upon an- 
other removal. Some adventurous spirits had 
penetrated the wilderness of the interior until 
they discovered the charm and fertility of the 
valley of the Connecticut, and soon Hooker 
and his company were impelled by "the strong 
bent of their spirits" to remove thither. They 
alleged, in petitioning the General Court for 
permission to remove, that their cattle were 
cramped for room in Newtowne, and that it 
behooved the English colonists to keep the 
Dutch out of Connecticut; but the real motive 
of the exodus was doubtless ecclesiastical. 
Hooker did not find himself altogether in accord 
with the Boston teacher, John Cotton. "Two 
such eminent stars," says Hubbard, writing 
in 1682, "both of the first magnitude, though 
of different influence, could not well continue 
in one and the same orb." Hooker's subse- 
quent conduct of affairs in Connecticut shows 
that he did not approve the Massachusetts 
policy of restricting the suffrage to church 
members. In the spring of 1636, therefore, 
Hooker and most of his congregation sold their 
possessions, and, driving one hundred and 
sixty cattle before them, went on their way 
to the planting of Hartford and the fotmding 
of a ne%v Commonwealth. 

The rude houses of Hooker's congregation 
were bought by a newly-arrived company, 
the flock of the Rev. Thomas Shepard. This 
firm but gentle leader, who left a deep impress 
on the habit of the towm, was a youth of 
thirty-one, and a graduate, like many of the 
Massachusetts leaders, of Emmanuel College at 
Cambridge. He came to New England with 
a compan}' of earnest followers, actuated, as 
he wrote, by desire for "the fruition of God's 
ordinances. Though my motives were mixed, 
and I looked much to my o\vn quiet, j'et the 
Lord let me see the glory of liberty in New 
England, and made me purpose to live among 
God's people as one come from the dead to 
His praise." His brave young wife died "in 
unspeakable joy" only a fortnight after his 
settlement at Newtownie, and was soon followed 
by the chief man of his flock and his closest 
friend, Roger Harlakenden, another godly 
youth of the manly type of English pioneers. 



THE FOUNDATIONS 



15 



iVt once, too, Shepard was phmged into the 
stormy debates of the Antinoniian Controversy 
which nearly caused a permanent division in 
the Massachusetts churches. The general 
election of KioT, which was held on the Common 
at Newtowne, was a tumultuous gathering, 
and discussion over the merits of "grace" and 
"works" ran high till John Wilson, minister 
of the Boston church, climbed up into a Ijig 
oak tree, and made a speech which carried 
the day for John 
Winthrop to the 
confusion of the 
herclical disciples 
of Anne Hutchin- 
son. Through 
these stormy 
waters Shepard 
steered his course 
so discreetly that 
he came into high 
favor among all 
people as a sound 
and vigilant min- 
ister, and Cotton 
Mather tells us 
that "it was with 
a respect unto 
this \^gilancy and 
t h e enlightening 
and powerful min- 
istry of Mr. Shc]j- 
ard that, when 
the foundation of 
a college was to 
be laid. Cam- 
bridge, rather 
than any other 
place, was pitched 
upon to be the 
.seat of that happy 
seminary-." 

The founding of Harvard College by the 
little colony was one of the most heroic, devout 
and fruitful events of American history. It 
was on the 28th day of October. UVM't, Sir 




Harry Vane — Milton's " Vane, young in years, 
but in sage coimsel old" — being the Governor, 
the Ccneral Court of the colony passed the 
following memorable vote : " The Court agrees 
to give '£400 towards a school or college — 
whereof £200 shall be paid the next year and 
£200 when the work is finished." Never were 
the foundations of such a structure laid by a 
community of men so poor, and under such 
sullen and averted stars. The colony was 

nothing but a 
handful of set- 
tlers barely cling- 
ing to the wind- 
swept coast; it 
was feeble and 
insignificant, in 
danger from In- 
dians on the one 
hand and foreign 
foes on the other; 
it was in throes 
of dissension on 
t h e matter o f 
heresy which 
; h r e a t e n e d to 
divide it, yet so 
resolved were the 
•icoplc that "the 
I om monwealth 
e furnished with 
knowing 'and un- 
lerstanding men 
;ind the churches 
with an able 
ministry," that 
I hey voted the 
entire annual in- 
come of the col- 
ony to establish 
a place of learn- 
ing. In the fol- 
lowing year the original vote was supple- 
mented by a further order that the college "is 
ordered to be at Newtowne, and that New- 
towne shall henceforth be called Cambridge." 



II 



THE FOUNDERS 



WHAT manner of men were these who 
foimded Cambridge? To say that 
they were EngUsh Puritans does not 
tell the whole story, for to many minds of the 
twentieth century Puritanism means little 
more than a harsh and narrow theologj' and 
a severe social and domestic discipline. We 
too easily forget that "the whole history of 
English progress since the Restoration has 
been the history of Puritanism." The Puritans 
were the people who carried the principles of 
the Protestant Reformation to their natural 
and logical applications. Wherever the Puri- 
tans went there went the seeds of "a church 
without a bishop and a state without a king." 
Macaulay said of them that they were "the 
most remarkable body of men which the world 
has ever produced." Hume wrote that "the 
precious spark of liberty had been kindled and 
was preserved by the Puritans alone;" and 
that "it is to them that the English owe the 
whole freedom of their Constitution." Carlyle 
called the Puritan movement "the last of all 
our Heroisms. . . . Few nobler Heroisms, — 
at bottom perhaps, no nobler Heroism ever 
transacted itself on this earth." 

The three Thomases who had most to do 
with the beginnings of Cambridge were typical 
Puritans. To follow the careers and describe 
the characters of Thomas Dudley, Thomas 
Hooker and Thomas Shepard is to reveal the 
motives and the potency of the Puritan move- 
ment. We can study these men now impar- 
tially and intelligently and the more we know 
of them the more cause have we to rejoice in 
our inheritances from them. 

Thomas Dudley was a man of fifty-four when 
he came to America. With him came his wife, 
Dorothy Dudley, his son Samuel, a yoiith of 
twenty-two, and his four daughters, Anne, 
Patience, Sarah and Mercy. Anne was already 
the bride of stout Simon Bradstreet. Dudley 
was a native of Northamptonshire. His 
mother died when he was ver}- young, and when 



he was but fourteen years old his father. Cap- 
tain Roger Dudley, was killed fighting on the 
Protestant side at the Battle of Ivry. Cotton 
Mather records in his history' that as soon as 
Thomas Dudley "had passed his childhood 
he was by those that stood his best friends 
preferred to be a page to the Earl of North- 
ampton, under whom he had opportunity to 
learn courtship and whatever belonged to 
civility and good behavior; with that earl he 
tarried till he was ripe for higher service." This 
appointment brought him into relations with 
one of the great families of the Midlands and 
put him in what Ben Jonson, who was two 
years older than Dudley, called the " succession 
for the noblest way 

Of brushing up our youth in letters, arms, 
Fair men, discourses civil, exercise 
And all the blazon of a gentleman." 

Attaining his majority, Dudley, by the 
goodwill of Lord Compton, obtained a Captain's 
commission and led a company to the wars in 
France. At the siege of Amiens he fought 
under the great King Henry, of Navarre, in 
whose service his father had fallen seven years 
before. When Amiens surrendered Dudley 
came back to England and seems at once to 
have found employment as a clerk of the Court 
of Common Pleas, sitting at Westminster. His 
immediate connection was with Sir Augustus 
Nichols who, says Cotton Mather, "being his 
kinsman also by the mother's side, took more 
special notice of him; and from him, being a 
prompt young man, he learned much skill in 
the law, and attained to such abilities as ren- 
dered him capable of performing a secretary's 
place, for he was known to have a very good 
pen, to draw up any writing in succinct and 
apt expressions." At this time he married 
Dorothy Yorke, a daughter of one of his 
former neighbors in Northamptonshire and " a 
gentlewoman both of good estate and good 
extraction." She bore the five children who 
accompanied their parents to America, and 



THE FOUNDERS 



17 



shared all his adventures until her death at 
Roxbury in l(i43. 

The connection of Dudley with the Courts 
ceased with the death of Jvidge Nichols, but 
during this relationship Dudley must have 
lived right at the center of all the jjolitical 
and religious agitations of that stirring time. 
Those were the days when Shakespeare was 
living in London and when his plays were being 
produced at the Globe and Blackfriars theatres. 
The makers of the King James version of the 
Bible were at work in the Jerusalem Chamber 
at Westminster and finished their immortal 
labors in Kill. Francis Bacon was ruling 
in the realm of the intellect and Sir Edward 
Coke was laying the foundations of jurispru- 
dence. Sir John Eliot and Sir Thomas Went- 
worth were just coming into fame as the great 
antagonists in Parliament. With all these 
Dudley may well have come into personal 
relations. 

But more than all those were the days when 
the passion for freedom and hatred of kinglj- 
and ecclesiastical oppression found utterance 
in England. The otherwise glorious reign of 
Queen Elizabeth was stained Vjy horrible 
cruelty toward all who refused, for conscience 
sake, to conform to the dogmas and ceremonies 
of the Church of England. The Act of Stiprcm- 
acy and the Act of Uniformity made non- 
conformity first treason and then a felony. 
The progressive Protestants found Elizabeth 
as "bloody" as Mary; and the only alleviation 
was that the victims of ecclesiastical tj-ranny 
were hanged instead of burned. 

Things were no better tmder Elizabeth's 
successor. James Stuart had been king of 
England but ten months when he invited the 
leading Puritan clergymen to meet himself 
and the bishops in a conference about the gov- 
ernment and ritual of the church. In the 
course of the discussion he lost his temper and 
stormed, as was his wont. The mention of 
the word " presbj-ter}' " lashed him into fur}-. 
"A Scottish presVjytery," he cried, "agreeth 
as well with a monarchy as God and the Devil. 
Then Jack and Tom and Will and Dick shall 
meet, and at their pleasure censure me and 
my council, and all our proceedings. . . . Stay 
I pray you, for seven years, before you demand 
that from me, and if then you find me ptirsj- 



and fat, and my windpipes stuffed, I will per- 
haps hearken to you. . . . Until you find that 
I grow lazy, let that alone." One of the bishops 
declared that in this tirade his Majesty spoke 
by special inspiration from Heaven! The 
Puritans saw that they could expect nothing 
from the King. If any doubt remained, it 
was dispelled by the vicious threat with which 
the king broke up the conference. " I will 
make them conform," said he, "or I will harry 
them out of the land." 

This purpose the King and the bishops 
proceeded to carry out with unspeakable 
cruelty, and with all the persecutions and the 
hangings Dudley, as an officer of the Court, 
must have been familiar. He was still pre- 
sumably a member of the Church of England; 
but more and more his sturdy common sense, 
his passion for reality, and his hatred of tyr- 
rany, inclined him to association with the per- 
secuted non-conformists. 

In l(il() he was invited by the Earl of Lincoln 
to become the manager of his estates. Now 
the Earl was at that time the most conspicuous 
layman of the Puritan party and his house at 
Sempringham in Lincolnshire was in no small 
degree the head center of Puritan consultation 
and action. The eastern counties of England, 
the region between the I lumber and the Thames, 
had for two centuries been the hotbed of heresy 
and independency. It was in Lincolnshire, 
Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, and among the 
fens of Ely, Cambridge and Iltmtington, that 
Puritanism was strongest. It was as member 
and leading spirit of the Eastern Counties 
Association that Oliver Cromw^ell began his 
career; and, in the Civil War, East Anglia 
was from first to last the one region in which 
the supremacy of Parliament was unquestion- 
able and impregnable. While everj' one of 
the forty counties of England was represented 
among the settlers of Massachusetts, the eastern 
counties contributed far more than all the 
rest. An accurate investigator reports that 
two-thirds of the American people who can 
trace their ancestry to New England might 
follow it back to East Anglia; one-sixth might 
follow it to the southwestern counties — Devon- 
shire, Dorset, and Somerset — which so Ions 
were foremost in maritime enterprise, and 
one-sixth to all the other parts of England put 



18 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



together. It was not by accident that the 
oldest counties of Massachusetts were called 
Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex, that the Lincoln- 
shire Boston gave its name to the chief city 
of New England, and that names like Ipswich, 
Lynn, Chelmsford, Brainlree, Sudbury, Haver- 
hill, Hingham and Needham appeared very 
early on the map of Massachusetts. 

For fourteen years Dudley discharged the 
arduous duties of his office as the trusted 
"Steward" of the Earl of Lincoln. He 
rescued the estates from impending bank- 
ruptcy and proved himself a faithful and 
efficient man of business. At Sempringham 
he met all the Puritan leaders of the time and 
with them entered into high debate about all 
manner of things involving church and state. 
For a while he lived at the Lincolnshire Boston 
under the ministry of John Cotton, and again 
at Clipsham in Rutland, near the family, of 
Isaac Johnson, who had married the Lady 
Arbella, sister of the Earl of Lincoln. 

Meanwhile the stupid tyranny of the Stuart 
Kings and the bigotry of their ecclesiastical 
agents went on "harrying" the Non-conform- 
ists. Charles Stuart succeeded his father in 
1623, and his character was such as to emphasize 
and increase the evils of his father's reign. 
Both father and son had some good intentions 
and both were sincere believers in their own 
theory of the business of being a King, while 
"for wrong-headed obstinacy and bottomless 
perfidy, there was nothing to choose between 
them." During the first four years of Charles' 
reign, the king's purpose to rule as an absolute 
monarch and the impossibility of expecting 
him to keep his promises became perfectly 
apparent. Despite all protest the king per- 
sisted in levying illegal taxes and to some extent 
was able to collect them. Men who refused 
to pay enforced loans were thrown into jail 
and the writ of habeas corpus was denied 
them. The treatment of the Non-conformists 
became even more severe, and fines, imprison- 
ment and exile for breaches of the ecclesiastical 
decrees became more and more common. 

While affairs at home thus went from bad 
to worse, the news from abroad was equally 
discouraging. In France the surrender of 
Rochelle had ended the existence of the Pro- 
testants as an armed political party. In 



Germany the terrible Thirty Years' War had 
jtist reached the darkest moment for the 
Protestants, and as yet there was no sign that 
Gustaviis Adolphus was to cross the Bailie 
and bring the Swedish legions to the rescue 
of the cause of liberty. Everywhere in Europe 
the champions of freedom were hard pressed, 
if not completely overthrown. Well might 
the Puritans begin to look across the broad 
ocean and to wonder if they might not in the 
untamed wildness of the new continent find 
an escape from a situation that was fast becom- 
ing intoleraljle. The settlers of Jamestown 
in Virginia, for all their misha])s, had at least 
shown that the ocean covild be overpassed and 
the wilderness tamed. The bold Separatists 
of Plymouth had pioneered the way to New 
England and for eight years had been clinging 
to the edge of the shaggy continent. " Learn 
wisdom, my countrymen," cried John White, 
the Puritan minister of Dorchester, "from the 
ruin which has befallen the Protestants at 
Rochelle and in the Palatinate; learn to avoid 
the plague while it is foreseen, and not to tarry 
as they did till it overtook them." The 
Ptiritan party in England was numerous and 
powerful, but none could foretell the issue of 
the impending conflict. Clearly it was well 
to establish a strong and secure retreat in 
America. What had been done at Plymouth 
by a few people of humble means might be 
done on a much greater scale by an association 
of men of larger resources. 

Many were the conferences at Sempringham 
or at Boston or around the table at Emmanuel 
College at Cambridge. It was at a meeting 
of these Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire 
neighbors at the English Cambridge on the 
the 26th of August, 1629, that the agreement 
to emigrate to America was finally drawn up 
and signed by the twelve gentlemen who there- 
by adventured their lives and fortunes in the 
effort to plant a colony in the wilderness where 
they might embody their ideals of a Christian 
Commonwealth. We have sometimes been 
led to suppose that Puritanism meant the rule 
of narrow-minded Calvinist ministers, but 
the twelve signers of this agreement were all 
laymen, country gentlemen and men of affairs. 

First stands the name of Sir Richard Salton- 
stall, one of the most magnanimous and broad- 



THE FOUNDERS 



19 



minded of the Puritan leaders, the founder of 
Watertown, and the ancestor of one of the 
most serviceable of Massachusetts families. 
Dudley's name stands second. Then comes 
the name of William Vassall, the first of that 
family to appear in New England. We shall 
meet the descendants of William's brother, 
Samuel Vassall, later in this history, for they 
were the leading family in Cambridge in the 
days before the Revolution. Isaac Johnson 
and John Humphrey signed the agreement. 
Both were men of property and standing, 
brothers-in-law of the Earl of Lincoln. John- 
son was the largest subscriber to the joint 
stock of the company. He and his wife, the 
Lady Arbella, were among the first of the 
Colonists to die. Of her the New England 
historian Hubbard wrote that she came "from 
a paradise of plenty and pleasure into a wilder- 
ness of wants," and Cotton Mather adds that 
"she took New England in her way to heaven." 
She died in August, ICoO, and her husband 
followed her a month later. His grave was 
the first made in what was later the King's 
Chapel burial ground. Winthrop wrote of 
him that "he was a holy man and wise, and 
died in sweet peace, leaving some part of his 
estate to the Colony." John Hampden was 
the executor of his will. 

John Winthrop's name stands ninth on the 
list. He was at that time in his forty-second 
year, grave and modest, tender and trvie, a 
man already famed for the strength and beauty 
of his character, the weight of his judgment 
and the charity of his disposition. Increase 
Nowell was another signer, and was later Select- 
man of Charlestown for nineteen years, and 
for six years the faithful secretary of the Colony 
Of the other signers 'William Colbum became 
the ruling Elder of the First Church in Boston, 
and William Pynchon laid the foundations 
of the town of Roxbury and later was the father 
of Springfield on the Connecticut. Of the 
remaining three, two failed to keep the agree- 
ment to emigrate and one returned to England 
after a verj' brief sta}' in Massachusetts. 

The adventurers hastened to ally themselves 
with the Massachusetts Bay Company that 
had in the previous year secured the grant of 
a tract of land including all the territory 
between the Merrimac and the Charles Rivers, 



and had already despatched John Endicott 
and his comrades to America. Of this com- 
pany Matthew Cradock, a wealthy Puritan 
merchant in London, was governor, and the 
records show that Sir Richard Saltonstall, 
Mr. Humphrey, Mr. Vassall and Mr. Nowell 
had been engaged in the enterprise from its 
beginning. Mr. Pynchon's name appears on 
the record as early as May II, l(i29, and Isaac 
Johnson's name appears in the governing board 
in the same month. Two days after the sign- 
ing of the Cambridge agreement, these six 
presented the articles of the agreement to 
the Company, and there was much discussion 
over the stiptilation that the government of 
the Colony shoidd be transferred from the 
meeting of the Company in London to the 
actual Colonists themselves settled or to be 
settled in New England. That was a vital 
issue and the decision meant much for the 
future destinies of America. The subject 
was first proposed at the meeting of the Com- 
pany on July 28, 1G29, at the house of the 
Deputy-Governor, Thomas Goffe, in London, 
by Mr. Cradock, the then Governor of the 
Company, who "read certain propositions 
conceived by himself; viz., that for the ad- 
vancement of the plantation, the inducing 
and encouraging persons of worth and quality 
to transplant themselves and families thither, 
and for other weighty reasons therein contained, 
to transfer the government of the plantation 
to those that shall inhabit there, and not to 
continue the same in subordination to the 
Companj' here, as it now is." 

The proposition was too important to be 
the stdiject of hasty decision, and the Record 
states that, " by reason of the many great and 
considerable consequences thereupon depend- 
ing, it was not now resolved upon." The 
members of the Company were requested to 
consider it "privately and seriously." This 
call for "private and serious" consideration 
furnishes abundant proof that the Company 
understood how important and how bold a 
measure their Governor had proposed to them. 
It was no mere measT.ire of emigration or colo- 
nization. It was a measure of self-governing 
independence. 

The General Court met again to consider 
this momentous matter on the 2Sth day of 



20 



A HISTORY ol- CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



August, 1G29; but the interval had not been 
unimproved by those who desired to have the 
question wisely and rightly decided. It had 
cost them, we may well believe, many an 
anxious hour of deliberation and consultation; 
but the act of the signers of the Cambridge 
agreement settled the issue. The most sig- 
nificant clause of that memorable agreement 
stated the condition upon which the signers 
agreed so solemnly, "to pass the seas (under 
God's protection), to inhabit and continue in 
New England." The clause read: 

"Provided always, that before the last of 
September next, the whole Government, to- 
gether with the patent for the said Plantation, 
be first, by an order of Court, legally trans- 
ferred and established to remain with us and 
others which shall inhabit upon the said Plan- 
tation." 

These men were not proposing to go to New 
England as adventurers or traffickers; not 
for the profits of a voyage, or the pleasure of a 
visit; but "to inhabit and continue" there. 
And they were unwilling to do this while any 
merely subordinate jurisdiction was to be 
exercised there, and while they would be obliged 
to look to a Governor and Company in London 
for supreme authority. They were resolved, 
if they went at all, to carry "the whole Govern- 
ment" with them. 

The decision of the question is thus entered 
upon the Records of the Company : 

"Where, by erection of hands, it appeared, 
by the general consent of the Company, that 
the government and patent should be settled 
in New England." 

The names of Winthrop and Dudley first 
appear on the Company's record as present 
at the meeting of October 15, 1629. Five days 
later, as the vote establishing the government 
in New England required that the officers 
should be chosen from those who were to emi- 
grate, Winthrop was elected governor in the 
place of Mr. Cradock, and John Humphrey 
was elected Deputy-Governor. Later Mr. 
Humphrey fotmd that he must delay his 
departure and Dudley was chosen in his place. 

The great Puritan exodus began in the 
following spring. Seventeen vessels sailed 
from England in April and May, bearing nearly 
a thousand souls to the new land. Dudley 



had before him twenty-three years of noble 
service, and he never again revisited the pleasant 
fields, the stately church towers, the ancient 
dwellings of England. His personal history 
becomes the history of Massachusetts. 

In all his varied career as a leader of the 
Massachusetts Colony, Dudley showed himself 
an efficient man of affairs, a resolute adminis- 
trator, a rigid disciplinarian and above all a 
man who had a profound sense of the immediate 
presence of God in the world and of his own 
accountability to him. lie was an Old Testa- 
ment hero and could use with perfect sincerity 
the phrase with which the prophet Elijah began 
his speeches in each crisis of his life, "As the 
Lord liveth, before whom I stand." He did 
his work from day to day as in the sight of God. 
It mattered little to him what consequences 
followed his actions so long as he had the 
approval of his conscience. Duty was the 
supreme law, and he tested everything by appeal 
to moral sanctions. His piety was austere, 
and he was sometimes harsh in his moral 
judgments; but his ability, his rectitude, his 
indomitable fortitude, made him the trusted 
guide of his younger comrades and their stead- 
fast reliance in times of perplexity or peril. 
His blood flows in the veins of a host of the 
most distinguished of the sons and daughters 
of New England. The stock has been fruitful 
and serviceable to a remarkable degree. 

As Thomas Dudley represents the stvirdy, 
efficient, masterful Puritan layman, Thomas 
Hooker may well stand as the type of the fer- 
vent, high-minded, liberty-loving Puritan 
minister. He was bom in the little Leicester- 
shire village of Marfield in 1580, so he was 
just ten years younger than Dudley. He had 
a good education and graduated at Emmantiel 
College at Cambridge in 1608, taking his 
Master's degree three years later. As we have 
already seen, Emmanuel College was, in the 
thought and language of the conservative 
churchman, "neither more nor less than a mere 
nursery of Puritans." It thoroughly justified 
that title. It trained its students in the love 
of freedom, in zeal for the simplicity of public 
worship, in hearty support of Protestantism 
against all " Popery and Prelacy," and in those 
ideas of church organization and discipline 



THE FOUNDERS 



21 



which the Puritans discovered in their Bibles. 
It represented the intensest spirit of non- 
conformity and of resistance to the oppressions 
of King and Bishop. Its services in training 
the founders of New England were pre-eminent. 
Of the first Massachusetts ministers the names 
of John Cotton, John Harvard, Thomas 
Shcpard, Samuel Stone, Nathaniel Ward, and 
Thomas Hooker, and many another less known 
to fame, arc borne on the roll of the graduates 
of Emmanuel. 

From 1(120 to 1(J2(J Hooker was minister 
at Esher, a village some sixteen miles south- 
west of London. It was a modest post of 
service, but one which fell in the gift of a 
Puritan patron and did not require confirma- 
tion by a bishop. Here he married the wife 
who later accompanied him to America. In 
1()2() he became "lecturer" at Chelmsford, 
some twenty -nine miles east of London. It 
was the growing habit of the Puritan party, 
where they could not secure the kind of service 
they wanted from the regular parish minister, 
to settle a "teacher," or "lecturer," as a kind 
of colleague to the parish minister. This was 
done usually by voluntary subscription and 
proved an efficient method of diffusing the 
Puritan principles. At any rate, the system 
was bitterly condemned by the Anglican party, 
and Bishop Laud was from the first its consci- 
entious and active enemy. 

Hooker quickly won a high reputation as a 
preacher. He was thorough-going in his 
Protestantism and believed that it was his 
duty to do what he could to reform the Church 
of England into what he believed to be the 
pattern commended in the New Testament. 
He strove for the moral betterment of the 
people, and regarded the toleration in the 
Anglican church of an ignorant and lazy clergy 
as an abomination which was not to be sub- 
mitted to. He insisted on a searching, moral 
discipline and advocated the need of a learned, 
preaching ministry. Hooker's repiitation for 
intense spiritual earnestness, strenuous in- 
dustry, vividness and aptness of pviblic speech, 
soon brought upon him the condemnation of 
the Bishops. Laud was his immediate ecclesi- 
astical superior, and by the year 1G29 he had 
forced Hooker out of his Chelmsford ministry. 
Not content with that he was cited before the 



High Commission Court and obliged to flee 
to Holland. There he served for two years 
as one of the ministers of the Scotch Church at 
Delft; and again for a few months with an 
exiled congregation at Rotterdam, h was 
evident, however, that this Dutch residence 
was only a temporary refuge. Hooker obvi- 
ously kept in close commimication with his 
former parishioners at Chelmsford, for in l().V2 
a considerable body of these people, together 
with others from the neighboring towns of 
Braintree and Colchester, sailed for New Eng- 
land, and we find them described in Governor 
Winthrop's Journal sometimes as "the Brain- 
tree Company," and sometimes as "Mr. 
Hooker's Company." It was evidently an- 
ticipated that Hooker would follow them to 
America and become their leader. 

The following year, then, l(i;^;^. Hooker 
sailed for New England in company with 
Rev. Samuel Stone, who was his colleagiie 
throughout his American career. Rev. John 
Cotton, of the Lincolnshire Boston, who was 
going over to become the minister of the First 
Church of the Massachusetts Boston, and 
John Haynes, the leading layman of the Brain- 
tree church, who was afterwards to be governor 
successively of Massachusetts and of Connecti- 
cut, were also passengers in the "Griffin." 
The ship's company had plenty of preaching, 
for Cotton Mather writes, "They had three 
sermons for the most part every day: of Mr. 
Cotton in the morning, Mr. Hooker in the 
afternoon, Mr. Stone after supper in the 
evening." 

Hooker found his congregation waiting for 
him at Newtown, and on October 11, l().'i3, 
he was settled there as a pastor, with Mr. Stone 
as teacher. This congregation was then the 
most influential in Massaclnisetts, not only 
in ecclesiastical but also in civil affairs. Hooker 
was rivalled among the ministers only by 
Cotton, and John Haynes in 1():55 succeeded 
Dudley as governor. Th6 reasons which led 
this congregation to leave the banks of the 
Charles and transfer itself to the banks of the 
Connecticut have already been described. In 
the late spring of 1036 Hooker and his parish- 
ioners built their new homes at the place which 
was soon to bear the name of Hartford. It 
was here, on May 31, 163S, that Hooker in his 



22 



A HISTURV UF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



sermon before the General Court of the little 
colony set forth the fundamental political 
principles which have ever since governed the 
development of American democracy. These 
principles were embodied two years later in 
the fundamental laws of Connecticut. 

He was no less eminent as an expounder of 
the principles of congregational government. 
As the author of the book entitled, "A Siirvey 
of the Summe of Church Discipline," he first 
laid down the principles of congregational 
independency. To his thinking, a true church 
was a company of Christian people united 
to one another in the service of God by a 
voltmtary covenant, and owning no other 
leadership than that of Christ. He held that 
such a congregation possesses full and complete 
authority to administer its own affairs, choose 
and ordain its own officers, and govern its own 
members. This democratic conception of 
church organization was destined to be vastly 
influential in the development not only of New 
England but of American political and religious 
life. On July 7, 1647, Hooker died at Hartford, 
and will always be remembered as the pioneer 
advocate of the principle that a self-governing 
democracy is the proper basis of a Common- 
wealth and as the great expounder of the char- 
acteristic polity of the New England churches. 

Thomas Shepard represents a third type of 
Puritan — a man of gentle spirit, frail body, 
but a "gracious, sweet, heavenly -minded and 
soul-ravishing minister, in whose soul the Lord 
shed abroad his love so abundantly that thou- 
sands of souls have cause to bless God for him." 
We know the man's most private and inner 
life, for he left behind him an autobiography 
which records the history* of his personal and 
spiritual experiences as well as his public career. 
We know just how he felt, worked, dared and 
suffered. He was bom in the little village of 
Towccster in Northamptonshire. " In the 
yeare," he wrote, "of Christ 1605, upon the 
day, & that very houre of the day wherein 
the Parlament should have bin blown up by 
Popish priests." His mother died when he 
was four years old and his father when he was 
ten, and his childhood was evidently one of 
no little hardship. At fourteen he was ad- 
mitted a pensioner at Emmanuel College and 



made at the University a fine reputation for 
scholarship and high purpose. He received 
deacon's orders in the Established Church, 
but accepted an appointment as "lecturer" 
at Earls-Colne in Essex. Shepard's first 
charge was memorable, because it brought 
him into connection and close friendship with 
the stalwart young Puritan squire, Roger 
Harlakenden, who afterwards accompanied 
him to America, was the chief layman of the 
Church at Cambridge, and whose body was 
one of the first laid in the old Cambridge burial 
groimd. 

The young minister was not allowed to do 
his work in peace. He was promptly charged 
with being "a non-conformable man, when 
for the most of that time I was not resolved 
either way." After three years, and a little 
more, had passed, he was summoned before 
Laud, then the Bishop of London. The 
Bishop was more angry than was becoming 
to his sacred office, and his sentence was more 
explicit than patenial: "I charge you that 
you neither preach, read, marry, bury, or 
exercise any ministerial functions in any part 
of my Diocess; for if j-ou do, and I hear of it, 
I'll be upon your back and follow yoii wherever 
you go, in any part of this kingdom, and so 
everlastingly disenable j^ou." This far-reach- 
ing denunciation was fitted to have some effect 
in one direction or the other upon the "prating 
coxcomb." He must either conform or venture 
to defy the ecclesiastical decree. He took 
time to consider his course. The Puritan 
made haste slowly, it was a trait of his char- 
acter, but he did not go backward or sidewise. 
Shepard spent a few months with the Harla- 
kendens, while his spirit burned within him 
as he saw more clearly "into the evil of the 
English ceremonies, crosse, surplice and kneel- 
ing." Then the Bishop "fired me out of this 
place," a curiously modem phrase to find in 
a Seventeenth Century Journal and equally 
apt. He accepted an invitation to Yorkshire 
and became chaplain in the family of Sir 
Richard Darley, where he was kindly treated — 
very kindly, inasmuch as the knight's kins- 
woman became his wife. She was the first 
Margaret Shepard, who shared all her husband's 
hardships only to meet early death soon after 
landing in New England. 



THE FOUXDERvS 



23 



But another ecclesiastic drove hitn from his 
pleasant Yorkshire refuge, and he went to 
Northumberland, where he thought he might 
preach in peace, "being far from any bishops"; 
but again he was silenced. Thus driven from 
pillar to post it was but nat-'ral that the 
thought of removing to New England should 
come to him. His reasons are on record in 
his "little booke." He saw no call to any 
other place in Old England. The Lord seemed 
to have departed from England when Mr. 
Hooker and Mr. Cotton were gone, and the 
hearts of most of the godly were set and bent 
that way. He was convinced of the intolerable 
evils in the Anglican Church. " I saw no reason 
to spend my time privatelj' when 1 might pos- 
sibly exercise my talent publikelj^ in New Eng- 
land. My dear wife did much long to see me 
settled there in peace and so put me on to it." 
He sailed with his wife and child in the year 
1034. They encoimtered a great storm and with 
difficulty got back again to the English shore. 
Then his baby died, and the stricken father 
dared not be present at the btu-ial, lest he should 
be arrested. He wondered if he was resisting 
the will of God and feared that he might have 
gone too far in separating from the " Assemblies 
in England." He spent the winter in Norfolk, 
with his expenses defrayed by Roger Harla- 
kenden. He could not preach in public, but 
he was busy with his pen. In the spring he 
went up to London, where he evaded the officers 
for a time, and in August he sailed once more 
for America, with his wife and a second son, 
his brother Samuel Shepard, his friend Roger 
Harlakenden, and other comrades. Their 
ship Defence was "very rotten and unfit for 
stich a voyage," and again there were fears 
that they might be forced to put back. But 
through many storms they were carried safely, 
and on the 3d of October, 1(135, they reached 
Boston harbor, and received a loving welcome 
from many friends. On the second day after 
their arrival, Shepard and his family came over 
to the Newtowne where he found Hooker and 
Stone, whom he had known in England, making 
their preparations to remove to the Connecti- 



cut. The new-comers were received into the 
families of Hooker's company and in many 
cases made arrangements to buy the houses 
of those who were to depart. A new church 
was organized with Shepard as its minister, 
and for twelve years he "exercised his gifts" 
in a way which both enlarged his own reputa- 
tion and served the infant Commonwealth. 
He was in a position in which his influence was 
widely felt. There were strong men in his 
congregation who were leaders in Church and 
State and through whom his teachings reached 
far beyond the walls of his humble meeting- 
house. He was a sttidious man, who prepared 
his sermons with infinite care and who left 
behind him books which show his learning, 
the acuteness of his reason, the fervor of his 
imagination, the depth of his sincerity. He 
was an active missionary and worked in fellow- 
ship with John Eliot for the welfare of the 
Indians. He could not preach in the Indian 
tongue, but he wrote the tracts which Eliot 
translated for the iise of the Indian converts. 
He made his short life long by fidelity and 
indefatigable industry. He died in 1649 at 
the early age of 4 1, leaving behind him a repu- 
tation for saintliness unsurpassed by anyone 
in the annals of New England. Grace and 
mercy, faith and conscience, met in him and 
gave power to his words. 

We discover, then, in these Puritan founders 
of Cambridge the elements of power which 
have always profoimdly affected the life of 
humanity. All the great human forces become 
the servants of the men who carry in themselves 
the passion for righteousness, the love of free- 
dom, and a confidence in unseen and eternal 
realities. The qvialities of these three men, 
efficiency, foresight, steadfastness and saint- 
liness, uncompromising righteousness and the 
sense of communion with and commission from 
God, are the permanent foundations of the Puri- 
tan Commonwealth. If such men come at the 
turning of the tide they stand forever as cardi- 
nal figures of history, and whether their per- 
sonal genius be great or small, they leave an 
undying influence upon the story of their race. 



Ill 



THE CHURCH 



WE can understand the early history 
of Massachusetts only when we 
remember that the great aim which 
the settlers proposed to themselves was to 
found "a civil and ecclesiastical government 
modelled, constructed and administered on 
the Bible as the common source of all divine 
knowledge and authority." In such a system 
the religious organization was not an accident 
or an appendage. It was the fundamental 
institution, and the "meeting-house" was the 
central necessity of a Massachusetts town. 

We have no complete description of the 
first meeting-house in Cambridge, but it stood 
in the middle of the village, on the south- 
western corner of what are now Dunster and 
Mt. Avtbuni Streets. In comparison with the 
mud walls and thatched roof of the Boston 
meeting-house, the hewn frame of the Newtowne 
house, with roof of slate or boards, though 
probably less picturesque, no doubt looked to 
our ancestors much more complete and dig- 
nified. The interior was as simple and im- 
ecclesiastical as the exterior. There was no 
altar, no choir, nothing even that in olden 
countries would be called a pulpit ; only a desk, 
with seats before it for deacons and elders, 
and rows of benches beyond, for men on the 
one side, and for women on the other. Indeed, 
it was not primarily a church at all. It was 
a meeting-house: a place, that is, where the 
people of the town gathered for all common 
purposes, on week-days to arrange their secular 
aflfairs, on the seventh to worship God. In 
the Plymouth Colony, the meeting-house (built 
more than ten years before) was also a fort, the 
roof being a flat platform, with six little cannon 
mounted on it; the worshippers, on Stmday, 
assembling b}* beat of drum, and marching 
together to their meeting place. 

On Monday morning, February 11, 1036, 
this meeting-house was the scene of the gather- 
ing of the new church which was to take the 
place of Hooker's congregation soon to depart 



for Connecticut. "There was," said Dr. 
Newell, in his Anniversary discourse two 
htmdred and ten years later, "a Sabbath-like 
quiet and gravity in the looks and movements 
of the people. There were signs of preparation 
for some special solemnity. The signal for a 
public gathering was heard; and, as the in- 
habitants issued from their dwellings and 
passed with sedate step through the streets, 
others of less familiar countenance, who had 
spent the Sabbath with them that they might 
be here in season, or who had just arrived from 
the neighbourhood, were seen mingling with 
them aS they went. Gathering from all 
quarters came the fathers of the infant church 
and commonwealth of Massachusetts, to sanc- 
tion by their presence the solemn act which 
was about to be performed. From Boston, 
from Charlestown, from Roxbury, from Dor- 
chester, from Watertown, and the towns which 
were witliin convenient travelling distance, 
the 'messengers' of the invited churches, and 
others, drawn hither by curiosity and religious 
interest, were seen wending their way, as they 
then best could, over new-wrought roads, or 
across the open fields and over the ice-bridged 
rivers and streams, to the humble Puritan 
sanctuary. In the midst of the newly-risen 
dwellings which had spnmg up as by magic 
under the diligent hands of the Christian ad- 
venturers who first planted the town, on the 
rising ground just above the marshes, and in 
the principal street, leading down to the river, — 
which bore, as its still bears, the name of their 
king, — stood the House of Prayer. A plain, 
roughly-finished edifice it was but as precious 
in the sight of God as the marble and gilded 
cathedral. 

"The little church was soon filled to over- 
flowing. The day, perhaps, was one of the 
mild and bright days which February often 
mingles with its snows and storms; and even 
if it were not, our hardy sires who had left 
their pleasant homes in Old England for the 



THE CHURCH 



25 



' stem and rockbound coast ' of the New, who 
had deHberately exchanged their dear native 
soil for the uncertainties and discomforts of 
a colony in a heathen and savage land, who 
had traversed the wide, weltering sea for the 
privilege of worshipping God in purity and 
freedom, — men who made their religion the 
sun and centre of their being, — were not to be 
daunted by a little cold or a little damp in the 
preformance of its dtities; and though our 
modern safeguards against snow and wet were 
unknown to their pilgrim feet, though neither 
stove nor furnace — those innovations of modern 
church-comfort — softened the chilly air, or 
dissolved the curling breaths that rose thickly 
upward in the sanctuary, they never thought of 
complaining, much less of staying at home. . . . 
"And first among the forms which stand oiit 
on the historic picture, as it presents itself 
to the eye of a Massachusetts memory, is that 
of John Winthrop, now in the meridian of life, 
the father of our commonwealth, the first 
governor of the colony, and always among its 
ruling and guiding spirits, — 'the Nehemiah,' 
as Mather calls him, 'of our American Jeru- 
salem,' — the able, discreet, faithful, noble- 
spirited, open-handed servant of the rising 
state, for which he freely spent his time, his 
property, and his strength, — a man of man}- 
and great virtues, both in public and in private 
life, and whose errors were the errors of his 
age, — of well-balanced mind, sound judgment, 
great courtes}^ and self command, — prudent 
in counsel, energetic in action, mild and con- 
siderate in the exercise of authority, so as 
even to be charged by his more rigid associates 
with over-lenity, patient of personal injuries, 
and overcoming evil with good, firm and in- 
trepid in his adherence to right, meek and 
magnanimous in his acknowledgment of wrong, 
and pursuing through the little and great trials 
of his lot the even tenor of his way, — frugal, 
abstinent, laborious, self-denying, wisely and 
manfully accommodating himself to his new 
situation, avoiding in himself and discouraging 
in others all show and expensiveness in dress 
and style of living, foregoing for example's sake 
many of the elegancies and comforts to which 
he had been accustomed, biit at the same time 
dispensing promptly and bountiftdly to the 
wants of the needy, and impoverishing himself 



in the public service, — the true gentleman, the 
kind-hearted and benevolent neighbour, the 
loving husband and father, the humble and 
devout Christian. 

"Next we discern the sterner countenance 
of Thomas Dudley, another of the trusty and 
devoted servants of the colony, whose name is 
so often associated with Winthrop's; the first 
deputy-governor, and afterwards from time 
to time governor, the principal founder of our 
town, and the zealous champion of its interests, 
whose house stood close liy the church, — and 
his heart, too; — a man of great integrity and 
independence, of strict honor and truth in his 
dealings, hardy ip body and in mind, able in 
Imsiness, well qualified in most respects for 
public office, which he retained till his death, 
but at the same time of an irritable tempera- 
ment and strong passions, somewhat close, it 
was thought, in money matters, with a soldier's 
roughness of speech, severe and unbending in 
the administration of the laws, and zealously 
intolerant in his religious sentiments. 

"John Haynes, too, is there; that 'heavenly 
man,' as Roger Williams calls him, the gov- 
ernor for the present year, another of the early 
settlers of Cambridge under the ministry of 
Hooker, and afterwards with him one of the 
fathers of Connecticut, where he enjo3'ed an 
imbotmded and uninterrupted esteem and 
popularity at the head of affairs in that colony; 
his wealth, as well as his wisdom and upright- 
ness, giving him an influence which he con- 
tinued to possess and to deserve through life. 

"Not far from him, in the seats allotted to the 
most honored of the assembly, I see one, lately 
arrived from England, whom the veering popu- 
lar favor is about to place — though but for a 
single term — in the chief magistracy occupied 
successively by Winthrop, Dudley and Haynes, 
men of more than twice his age; — a young man 
of twenty-four, of noble birth and more noble 
spirit, of rich genius and accomplishments, 
of persuasive eloquence, in after life at least, 
as Hume testifies, of consummate ability and 
address, remarkable even in that age so famed 
for its active talents, — of patrician family, 
but of republican and Puritan principles, — a 
most pure and devout Christian, a far-sighted 
and profound thinker, an ardent lover and 
consistent defender of civil and religious liberty 



26 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



in its widest extent, a zealous seeker and 
champion of truth, one of the earliest ex- 
pounders, not to say discoverers, of the funda- 
mental principles of a constitutional republic, — 
whose high and eventful career, commencing 
amid controversy and tempest in the New 
World, and passing through scenes of intense 
and varied excitement in the Old, is to termi- 
nate in a martyr's calm and heroic death upon 
the scaffold, — a death worth more to mankind 
than a thousand common lives, — a death 
which made all England's heart thrill, which 
drew admiration even from his enemies, and 
forced from one of the bystanders, a zealous 
loyalist, the applauding and expressive ex- 
clamation, 'He dies like a prince!' I see 
him in the midst of the magistrates and elders, 
with that composed thoughtfulness of aspect, 
and grave majesty of demeanor, which gave 
to his blooming manhood the weight and 
authority of age; — his reserve and quietness 
of manner, like the snows over a still volcano, 
covering from a stranger's eye the intense 
enthusiasm and energy which glowed in the 
deep soul beneath; — his peculiar and striking 
countenance having that in it which at once 
commanded attention, and, as Clarendon says 
of it, 'made men think there was something 
in him extraordinary,' as there indeed was. 
We do well to remember the name, the charac- 
ter and the fortunes of Sir Henry Vane. . . . 

"Near him is his chosen preacher and friend, 
John Cotton; the ecclesiastical patriarch of 
the Massachusetts colony, silenced by Laud 
for the tmpardonable sin of Puritanism and 
neglecting to kneel at the sacrament, but now 
rejoicing in his banishment from country and 
home as the opening, in Providence, of an 
enlarged sphere of active usefulness and influ- 
ence in which his learning and popiilar talents, 
his piety and zeal, the weight of his character, 
and the mildness of his spirit, placed him at 
the head of the clergy. 

"By his side sits his colleague in the ministry, 
John Wilson, the first pastor of the Boston 
church, of which Cotton was the teacher, — of 
whom it was said by the celebrated Dr. Ames, 
'that if he might have his option of the best 
condition this side of heaven, it would be that 
of teacher in a congregational church of which 
Mr. Wilson was pastor ' ; and of whose preach- 



ing our own Shepard, when he first heard him, 
exclaimed : ' Methinks I hear an apostle when 
I hear this man. . . .' 

"Among his brethren who appear in the scene 
as it rises before us out of the mist of time, we 
may discern James and Symmes, of Charles- 
town, and Phillips, of Watertown, the fellow- 
passenger of Winthrop in the Arbella, of whom 
the governor writes, at his death, as 'a godly 
man, specially gifted, and very peaceful in 
his place, much lamented of his own people 
and others.' And in another seat is the future 
pastor of Concord, one of the strictest of the 
Puritans, Peter Bulkley, a gentleman by birth 
and education, a scholar of no mean attain- 
ments, with a well-furnished library (of which 
he gave a considerable part to the College in 
this place) and a large estate, of which he made 
most bountiful and judicious use in the ad- 
vancement of private and public good. 

"Another glance shows us Richard Mather, of 
Dorchester, an eminent divine and controver- 
sialist, and the progenitor of the many distin- 
guished ministers of that name. His neighbour, 
the pastor of Roxbury, that zealous opponent of 
the new lights of his time, Thomas Weld, now 
chiefly remembered as the author of " The Rise, 
Reign and Ruin of the Antinomians," has 
accompanied him on the way, and has taken 
his place among the delegates of the invited 
chiirches. And there, too, is his beloved 
colleague, the self-sacrificing and tender- 
hearted Eliot; the apostle to the Indians, and 
their devoted and unflinching friend, the first 
and most efificient Protestant missionary to 
these wild men of the soil, who, a few years 
after this, with the aid of Gookin, one of the 
distinguished inhabitants of this place, com- 
menced his labors among the savages, and made 
his first conversions at Nonantum, then lying 
within the limits of Cambridge. His efforts 
and sacrifices were rewarded, indeed, with but 
a temporary and inadequate success; but his 
loving and saintly spirit enjoyed its reward, 
as it still toiled on in patience and hope. 

' ' Hugh Peters, too (a name not to be forgotten) , 
who, with Vane and others, had arrived in New 
England the preceding autumn, and was now 
in Boston or the neighbourhood (for he was not 
settled at Salem till December, 1G3(J), was in all 
probability at the gathering of our Cambridge 



THE CHURCH 



27 



church. He, too, was one of the remarkable 
men of a remarkable period; and afterwards 
became a conspicuous actor in the revolutionary 
scenes in England. He was the chaplain and 
counsellor of Cromwell; distinguished by a 
quaint and homely, but original, vigorous, 
Latimer-likc eloquence,' which made him one 
of the most popular and effective preachers 
of his time; an ardent, resolute, active and 
enterprising man, lion-hearted and trumpet- 
tongued, entering with characteristic enthu- 
siasm and energy into the political as well as 
religious controversies of the day, ready to 
fight or pray, as his services might be wanted, 
and finally, like Vane, dying upon the scaflfold, 
and, like Vane, meeting his fate with an un- 
shaken fortitude and heroism. While he was 
in this countrj', his ministry at Salem, and his 
spirited public services of various kinds, made 
him a rich blessing to the town and the state 
in which he lived. Of quick mind and versa- 
tile talents, ready to act upon all occasions 
and in all matters, temporal as well as spiritual, 
the influence of his counsels and wise sugges- 
tions, of his labors and successful example, 
left a deep and enduring impression upon the 
character of his Salem flock. 

"But time would fail me to speak fully of the 
honored and useful men, both among the laity 
and the clergy, who, we have good reason to be- 
lieve, stood sponsors at the christening of our 
ancient church. I can only mention the names 
of such men as Richard Bellingham, and Simon 
Bradstreet, one of the first settlers of Cam- 
bridge, both of them afterwards chosen several 
times to the chief magistracy, in Massachu- 
setts,- — William Coddington, a wealthy Boston 
merchant, of high character, a friend and sup- 
porter of Mrs. Hutchinson, and afterwards 
among the foimders of Rhode Island, and its 
governor at his death, — William Pynchon, 
the father of Roxbury, and then of Spring- 
field, — Increase Nowell, of Charlestown, for 
many years secretary of the colony, — who, with 
others of less note, filled the seats of the sanc- 
tuary. 

"In front of all were the pastor and the teacher 
of the first flock here gathered, Thomas Hooker 
and Samuel Stone, who were soon to be the 
spiritual fathers of another colony at Hartford. 
Hooker was also one of the admired and 



renowned preachers of his time, and became 
to Connecticut what Cotton was to Massa- 
chusetts, its ecclesiastical patriarch and oracle 
—'the light of the western churches.' 

" 'His colleague, Stone,' as his contemporary, 
Morton, testifies, 'was another star of the 
first magnitude in New England,'— 'a learned, 
solid and judicious divine,' celebrated not 
only for his ability as a disputant, but for his 
wit, pleasantry and good humor." 

In front of the pulpit facing the congre- 
gation, sat Thomas Shepard, and with him 
the deacons of the newly-organized church. 
Governor Winthrop's journal records the pro- 
ceedings as follows: "This day, there met a 
great assembly, where the proceeding was as 
followeth: Mr. Shepherd and two others (who 
were after to be chosen to office), sate together 
in the elder's seat. Then the elder of them 
began with prayer. After this Mr. Shepherd 
prayed with deep confession of sin,&c., and exer- 
cised out of Eph. V.,— that he might make it to 
himself a holy, &c. ; and also opened the cause 
of their meeting, &c. Then the elder desired 
to know of the churches assembled, what 
number were needful to make a church, and 
how they ought to proceed in this action. 
Whereupon, some of the ancient ministers, 
conferring shortly together, gave answer: 
That the Scripture did not set down any certain 
rule for the number. Three (they thought) 
were too few, because of Matt. XVIII an appeal 
was allowed from three; but that seven might 
be a fit number. And, for their proceeding, 
they advised, that stich as were to join should 
make confession of their faith, and declare 
what work of grace the Lord had wrought in 
them; which accordingly they did, Mr. Shep- 
herd first, then four others, then the elder, and 
one who was to be deacon (who had also prayed), 
and another member. Then the covenant 
was read, and they all gave a solemn assent 
to it. Then the elder desired of the churches 
that, if they did approve them to be a church, 
they woiild give them the right hand of fellow- 
ship. Whereupon, Mr. Cotton (upon short 
speech with some others near him) , in the name 
of their churches, gave his hand to the elder 
with a short speech of their assent, and desired 
the peace of the Lord Jesus to be with them. 
Then Mr. Shepherd made an exhortation to the 



28 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



rest of his body, about the nature of their 
covenant, and to stand firm to it, and com- 
mended them to the Lord in a most heavenly 
praj'er. Then the elder told the assembly, 
that they were intended to choose Mr. Shepherd 
for their pastor (by the name of the brother 
who had exercised), and desired the churches, 
that, if they had anything to except against 
him, they would impart it to them before the 
day of ordination. Then he gave the church 
thanks for their assistance, and so left them to 
the Lord." 

It was indeed a long way which these people 
had come from the stately ritual of the English 
prayer book to these simple and unpremedi- 
tated rites. The contrast between the elaborate 
ceremony of an Anglican induction into priestly 
orders and this plain, self-reliant procedure 
was as great as that between the lofty tower 
and splendid nave of St. Botolph's Church 
in the Lincolnshire Boston, of which John 
Cotton had been the rector, and the frame 
meeting-house in which he now gave "the 
fellowship of the churches" to the newly 
organized society. 

It is most interesting to see how this ques- 
tion of a new form of church government and 
worship worked itself out in New England. It 
was done with very little friction, by perfectly 
natural and unconscious steps. The natural 
thing to do was to turn directly to the Bible 
and to shape the new organization and form 
of worship by the apostolic models. Already 
in Holland, as some of their own number knew, 
this had been long practiced. Already in 
Plymouth it had taken root in New England 
soil. Almost without discussion or dispute 
they adopted entirely new methods of pro- 
cedure, though in England they had barely 
tolerated their Separatist neighbors, yet in 
America they rapidly became Separatists them- 
selves. Not a vestige of the supremacy of 
king or bishop remained when they reared 
their churches in the wilderness. 

When the Massachusetts Company left 
England the leaders still acknowledged their 
allegiance to the Anglican Church. There are 
few more touching and persuasive documents 
of history than the farewell address of the exiles 
on the Arbella to the Church of England. It 
is entitled: 



"The Humble Request of His Majes- 
tie's loyall Subjects, the Govemour 
and the Company late gone for New 
England; To the rest of their Breth- 
ren, in and of the Church of England. 
For the obtaining of their Prayers, and 
the removall of suspitions, and mis- 
constructions of their Intentions." 
and in it we read that they did not leave the 
Church of England "as loathing that milk 
wherewith we were nourished there; but, 
blessing God for the parentage and education, 
as members of the same body, shall always 
rejoice in her good, and unfcigncdly grieve for 
any sorrow that shall ever betide her, and while 
we have breath, sincerely desire and endeavor 
the continuance and abundance of her welfare, 
with the enlargement of her bounds in the 
kingdom of Christ Jesus." 

"If there be any," goes on the Humble 
Request, "who through want of clear intelli- 
gence of our course, or tenderness of affection 
towards us, cannot conceive so well of our 
way as we could desire, we would entreat such 
not to despise us, nor to desert us in their 
prayers and affections, but to consider rather 
that they are so much the more bound to 
express the bowels of their compassion towards 
us, remembering always that both nature and 
grace doth ever bind us to relieve and rescue, 
with otir utmost and speediest power, such 
as are dear unto us, when we conceive them to 
be running uncomfortable hazards." 

Nearly all the first ministers of the Massa- 
chusetts Colon)- were ordained clergymen 
of the Clnirch of England. Thomas Shepard 
made his first open renunciation of Episcopacy 
in entering upon his Newtowne pastorate. 
John Cotton served for twenty years under the 
Bishop of Lincoln as vicar in St. Botolph's 
Church at Boston, and before leaving his flock 
"Conferred with the chief of the people and 
offered them to bear witness (still) to the truth 
he had preached and practised amongst them 
.... if they conceived it any confirmation of 
their faith and practice." Hooker's ministry 
in the Church of England was shorter; but 
when it was found that the Bishop of London 
threatened to suspend him, a petition was pre- 
sented from forty-seven "conformable minis- 
ters" asking that he be retained. Nothing, 



THE CHURCH 



29 



however, could be more remote from the prac- 
tice of the Chiirch of Enjjland than the habits 
which these ministers adopted in America. 
The reaction was complete. There was no 
liturg}', no surplice, no stately ritual, no 
priestly offices. The minister became simply 
one of the congregation set apart by his fellow- 
worshippers to study, preach and conduct 
the ptdjlic worship. Whatsoever the poverty 
of their outward surrotmdings, however lack- 
ing in grace, in beaiity, in esthetic appeal, 
these brave and tmcompromising folk had at 
least won the freedom to conduct their secular 
and religious affairs after their own fashion. 
They had founded a Commonwealth and or- 
ganized a church modelled and administered 
according to their interpretation of the Bible. 
In accordance with these principles they had 
built them a civil and religious temple, "Jesus 
Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." 

At first the New England chtirches acted 
as purely independent bodies. Then the 
common sense of loneliness and of danger drew 
them into close alliance. In all exigencies 
they learned more and more eagerly to seek 
each other's sympathy and counsel. The 
identification of chtirch with state, whereby 
the members of the several churches found 
themselves constantly acting together in both 
the civil and the religious affairs of all the com- 
munities, accustomed them to concerted, 
action. And so it happened that, in spite of 
occasional protests from individual towns, 
jealous of their rights, there grew up by mutual 
consent a certain affiliation of the churches, 
and mutual concern in each other's welfare, 
which, however familiar to us today, was then 
something new in the world. 

This is not the place to trace the development 
of this new polity. It is interesting for us, 
however, to rememVjcr that the first announce- 
ment to the world of this new order of religious 
government, and, indeed, the first recognition 
on the part of the churches themselves of the 
fact that they had committed themselves to 
a common polity, was directly associated with 
the church in Cambridge and its first pastor. 
The hour comes when every new movement. 



just becoming conscious of its own identity 
and its own purpose, takes to itself a name of 
its own. That moment came, as we shall see 
later, when the synod of Cambridge, assembling 
again in the little meeting-house on Dunster 
Street, declared that the New England churches 
were not Independent, but Congregational. 

"So sprung up," said one of Shepard's suc- 
cessors, "a new Christian order, — an order in 
which the individual churches, while preserving 
their individuality and claiming each congre- 
gation as the source of all ecclesiastical power. 
yet consented to invest the asseml)led churches 
with certain atithority over the several parts. 
It had been evolved, as we have seen, out of 
the practical exigencies of the situation. It 
had no justification in any previous traditions 
of church policy. It was very illogical, and 
showed in the statements and arguings of its 
own platform an uneasy consciousness that 
it was striving to combine things inhcrentlv 
incompatiljle. The churches were independent, 
yet they were not; each parish claimed the 
absolute right of controlling its own affairs, 
yet delegated part of its authority to councils 
or synods. With every new generation and 
at every new jimcture ilown to the present day, 
Congregationalism has been forced to state its 
principles anew, and decide afresh just how 
much authority resides in the coimcil and how 
much in the congregation. With the unity 
and aggressive power of an established church 
it has certainly never shown itself able to 
compete. 

"Yet, logical or illogical, it was, as we have 
seen, verj^ spontaneous, and it has proved itself 
singularly adapted to its work. In the new 
life of the Western Continent during those early 
centuries, if not throughout the nation's entire 
life, it was exactly what was needed. What 
it lost, as compared with Episcopacy or Pres- 
bj'terianism, in sheer working power, it gained 
in elasticity and freedom. It has proved strong 
enotigh to hold together its scattered forces 
through the simple sentiment of brotherhood; 
it has proved supple and free enough to adapt 
itself to the growth of democratic institutions 
and the spread of new religious thought." 



IV 



THE COLLEGE 



♦ 



UPON the main gate of Harvard College is 
written today an inscription taken from 
one of the earliest chronicles, entitled 
"New England's First Fruits," and published 
in 1G43. 

" After God had carried us safe to New Eng- 
land and we had builded our houses, provided 
necessaries for our livelihood, reared convenient 
places for God's worship and settled the Civil 
Government, one of the next things we longed 
for and looked after was to advance learning 
and perpetuate it to posterity, dreading to 
leave an illiterate ministry to the churches 
when our present ministers shall lie in dust." 

It was on the 2Sth day of October, 1636, 
Sir Harry Vane being the Governor, that the 
General Court of the colony passed the 
memorable vote: "The Court agrees to give 
£400 towards a school or college — whereof 
£200 shall be paid the next year and £200 
when the work is finished." This is the sig- 
nificant act that marks the distinction between 
the Puritan colony and all pioneer settlements 
based on material foundations. For a like 
spirit under like circumstances history will be 
searched in vain. 

"This act," said James Russell Lowell, "is 
second in real import to none that has happened 
in the Western hemisphere. The material 
growth of the colonies would have brought 
about their political separation from the mother 
country in the fulness of time, but the founding 
of the first college here saved New England 
from becoming a mere geographical expression. 
It did more, it insured our intellectual inde- 
pendence of the Old World. That independ- 
ence has been long in coming, but the chief 
names of those who have hastened its coming 
are written on the roll of Harvard College." 

On November 15th, 1637, the General Court 
took the next step by voting that " the Colledg 
is ordered to bee at Newetowne," a place, as 
Winthrop wrote, "most pleasant and accom- 
odate" and "then under the orthodox and 



soul-flourishing ministry of Mr. Thomas Shep- 
herd." Newtowne was then renamed Cam- 
bridge and twelve of the leading citizens of 
the Colony were commissioned to see that the 
votes establishing the College were carried out. 

This Committee consisted of six magistrates 
and six ministers. The magistrates were John 
Winthrop, who was again Governor; Thomas 
Dudley, the Deputy-Governor; Richard Belling- 
ham, who was Governor a few years afterwards; 
John Humphrey of Lynn, one of the original 
adventurers and an assistant; Roger Harla- 
kenden of Cambridge, Shepard's friend and 
protector; and Israel Stoughton of Dorchester, 
who was an assistant for eight years and the 
father of the future Governor Stoughton. The 
six ministers were John Cotton and John Wilson 
of the Boston Church, Thomas Shepard 
of Cambridge, Thomas Weld of Roxbury, 
Htigh Peters, then settled at Salem, and John 
Davenport, who had just arrived in Boston, 
and who went on within a few months to the 
planting of New Haven. We do well to re- 
member these men. Humphrey and Peters 
tarried but a short time in New England, the 
brave young Harlakenden died before the 
College got started, and though Davenport 
returned to Boston in his old age, his fame is 
chiefly association with New Haven. The 
other eight bore names that have ever since 
been closely and honorably associated with 
Harvard College. All of the eight sent their 
own sons to the College and the descendants 
of these men have been enrolled among its 
scholars, teachers and administrators ever 
since. The names of Weld and Stoughton 
are borne by two of the buildings in the College 
Yard. There are more than forty Welds and 
Wilsons in the list of Harvard graduates, more 
than a score of Cottons and Winthrops and 
almost as many Dudleys and Shcpards. 

This efficient Committee got to work at once, 
and in 1638 work began under the guidance 
of one Nathaniel Eaton. At first the word 



THE COLLEGE 



31 



school was a more a])j)roprialc description 
than College, and Eaton was never known by 
any other title than schoolmaster. His stay 
was short. He was soon accused of the 
"cruell and barbaros beating of Mr. Nathaniel 
Briscoe and for other neglecting and misusing 
of his scholars," and accordingly on September 
29, 1639, he was dismissed and later fined and 
obliged to pay Mr. Briscoe, who was his assist- 
ant teacher, £30, in satisfaction of the wrong 
done him. Governor Winthrop in his History 
of New England told the story at great length, 
and evidently the affair created no little com- 
motion in the community. Later Eaton went 
to Virginia, whence he returned to England, 
and at the Restoration conformed to the Church 
of England and had a living at Biddcford until 
he died in a prison where he was confined for 
debt. 

Meanwhile, the Committee had gone for- 
ward with the erection of a building to house 
the scholars. It was a slow and difficult task, 
for all the timber had to be hewn by hand, 
and the shingles split with a saw. It stood 
at what is now the southern extremity of the 
College Yard, and, indeed, probably projected 
into what is now Massachusetts Avenue, 
opposite Holyoke House. It fronted to the 
south toward Massachusetts Avenue, then 
called Braintree Street. At the western end 
of the ground floor was a hall and a kitchen, 
and the same wing contained "the buttery and 
a study for the Senior Fellows." The eastern 
end of this floor was divided into chambers, 
within which were partitioned ofl small rooms 
called studies, each about six feet square. 
Each student had one of these studies allotted 
to him, but the chambers were shared in com- 
mon. On the floor above was a good-sized 
room for a library, and more chambers and 
studies. There were but two chimneys, and 
evidently most of the chambers were entirely 
without heat. In the accounts of the Com- 
mittee the bill of glazing is so small that it is 
obvious that very little glass was available. 
Probably oiled paper served as a substitute. 
Lime was very difficult to obtain, and the in- 
terior, like the interior of the little Meeting 
House, was daubed with clay as a substitute 
for plaster. There is some reason to suppose 
that certain chambers and studies were finished 



according to the wishes or the means of the 
students who first occupied them. Hence, 
while some were calked with clay, others were 
apparently ceiled with cedar and one or two 
were apparently lathed and plastered. There 
are charges for both clapboards and shingles 
in the accounts. It is, therefore, probable 
that the exterior walls were clapboarded and 
the roof shingled. It was, obviously, a primi- 
tive structure, yet the author of " New Eng- 
land's First Fruits," said of it, — "the edifice 
is very fair and comely within and without, 
having in it a spacious hall where they will 
meet at commons, lectures and exercises, and 
a large library with some books in it, the gifts 
of divers of our friends. Their chambers and 
studies also fitted for and possessed by the 
students and all other rooms and offices neces- 
sary and convenient with all needful offices 
thereto belonging." Johnson, in his book 
called "Wonder-working Providence," later 
stated that the College was "a fair building, 
thought by some to be too gorgeous for a 
wilderness and yet too mean in others' appre- 
hension for a College." There was at the top 
of the building a turret or cupola, for we have 
record of the fact that a bell given to the College 
was placed in the turret. No provision was 
made for lighting the place, and there early 
appear in the records charges against students 
for the "public candle." It is evident also 
that most of the students used the hall or 
dining-room as a living-room. There a fire 
was maintained at the expense of the students 
and there by the light of the "public candle" 
they must have studied during the winter 
evenings. 

Rules and regulations hedged in the students 
at every turn. They were not permitted to use 
the English language, except in the public 
exercises where it was particularly prescribed. 
Their conversation was presumably in Latin. 
They were not allowed to buy, sell, or exchange 
anything to the value of a six pence without the 
permission of their parents or tutor. They 
were not allowed to attend public meetings 
of any sort, and many were the misdemeanors 
which were punishable either by fine or by 
whipping. In the early days there was so 
little money in the colony that the wampum 
of the Indians was made by law a legal tender 



32 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



for debts. Under these circumstances the 
College steward received in payment for tuition 
such articles as the homes of the students could 
f\imish. Accoimts were liquidated with live- 
stock, grain, groceries, and solids and fluids 
of various descriptions. The building of the 
house and the opening of the school strained 
to the uttermost the limited resources of the 
colony. Indeed the enterprise could hardly 
have been carried to success at all had it not 
been for the memorable gift of a young Puritan 
minister, a graduate of Emmantiel, who was 
another of the dauntless Puritan saints who 
"took New England on their way to Heaven." 

"As we were thinking and consulting," wrote 
John Winthrop, "how to affect this great work, 
it pleased God to stir up the heart of one Mr. 
John Harvard, a godly gentleman and a lover 
of learning, then living among us, to bequeath 
the one-half of his estate, in all about £700, 
toward the erection of the College, and all his 
library." It was this gift which really made 
the enterprise possible, and it was in acknowl- 
edgment of it that the General Court voted, 
in 1638, "that the College at Cambridge be 
called Harvard College. 

There is no more interesting story of genea- 
logical research and discovery than that which 
describes the successful effort of Mr. Henry 
F. Waters, in 1885, to trace the history of John 
Harvard. By patient industry and skill, Mr. 
Waters was enabled to reconstruct the geneal- 
ogy which had been completely obliterated by 
the flight of time. John Harvard had become 
almost a mythical figure, but now we know 
more about him than we do of most of the 
early settlers of New England. His family 
story runs back to a fine old Elizabethean 
house, still standing in the High Street at 
Stratford-on-Avon, and now restored and 
known as the Harvard House. This house was 
built in 1596 by Thomas and Alice Rogers of 
Stratford, and therein they reared a thriving 
family. Thomas Rogers was the leading 
citizen of the little Warwickshire town, an 
alderman, and later baliff or mayor. By trade 
he was a marketman, or provision dealer in a 
general way, and he evidently prospered in 
their world's goods. Near by lived one John 
Shakespeare, who also had sons and daughters 
in goodly number and who was also an alder- 



man. The children of these two houses were 
close neighbors. They went together to the 
famous grammar school and they went to the 
same church. The children were paired, 
William Shakespeare with Charles Rogers, 
Richard Shakespeare with Richard Rogers, 
Edminid Shakespeare with Edward Rogers. 
Their fathers were trustees of the grammar 
school and the children played together on the 
village green. One of the Rogers children was 
named Katherine, and in April, KiOo, this 
Katherine Rogers, going out from the timbered 
house on the High Street to Holy Trinity 
Church, was married to Robert Harvard, a 
young market-man living in the Borrough of 
Soiithwark in London. It has been suggested 
that Robert Harvard and Katherine Rogers 
were brought together by no less a person than 
William Shakespeare, for Shakespeare had 
left Stratford and gone to London, and was 
living in Southwark. He had known the 
Rogers children intimately, and it is not tm- 
likely that in London he met Robert Harvard. 
A more probable suggestion is that as Thomas 
Rogers, the father, was in the same business 
as Robert Harvard, the two young people 
came together on the occasion of some business 
visit of the j-oung provision dealer to Strat- 
ford. At any rate, they set up their home in 
Southwark, and there John Harvard was bom 
in November, 1607. Their house was in the 
shadow of St. Saviour's Church, which is now 
Southwark Cathedral. The Bankside Theatre 
where Shakespeare played was not far away, 
and it is a fair guess that Shakespeare some- 
times rocked John Harvard's cradle or took 
the child on his knee to tell him stories. When 
the boy was eighteen years old the black plague 
descended upon London, and his father, two 
brothers and two sisters died of it within five 
weeks. Katherine Harvard was left a widow 
with her two boys John and Thomas. She 
married for a second time John EUetson, a 
well-to-do cooper in London and took steps 
at once to send her boy John to Emmanuel 
College at Cambridge, where he entered in 
1027, being recorded on the books of the 
College as coming from "Middlesex," which 
indicates that the Elletsons had moved from 
Southwark into London. It is interesting to 
remember that the English Cambridge was 



THE COLLEGE 



33 



the center of the Puritan movement, and that 
it was there, during John Harvard's time, that 
Winthrop and Dudley and Sir Richard Salton- 
stall, and the other leaders of the Massachu- 
setts Colony, met and arranged for their enter- 
prise. It is interesting too to recall that John 
Milton and John Harvard were at the Uni- 
versity together. Both were youths of London 
Puritan families, living not far apart, of nearly 
the same station in life, and of about equal 
means. It is a safe guess that the two young 
men were friends. 

Harvard spent nearly eight years at Cam- 
bridge. He took his Bachelor's Degree in 
1()32, and his Master's Degree in 1()35. The 
next year he married the sister of one of his 
college mates, a girl named Ann Sadler. While 
he had been at college his step-father had died 
and his mother had again married, this time 
to an old friend of the family, Richard Year- 
wood, a Puritan member of Parliament and a 
comrade with Hampden, Pym and Sir John 
Eliot. In l(i;i7 John Harvard's mother died 
and shortly afterwards his brother Thomas, 
so that all the modest wealth of the family 
came to John, and at the same time the ties 
that bound him to the motherland were mostly 
broken. It is no surprise, therefore, that we 
discover that in the year 1().'57 he sold his real 
estate in Southwark, including the Queen's 
Head Inn, which is still standing, to a ship 
captain, presumably as passage money for 
himself, his wife, and his belongings, to New 
England. In the fall of l(i:57 we find him 
admitted a freeman in Charlestown in Massa- 
chusetts and later he joined the church in that 
place and was apparently associated as a col- 
league with the minister, Zachariah Symmes. 
He bought considerable land, some of it in 
Charlestown, some of it across the Mystic 
river, and some of it "adjoining the Newtowne 
line" and he evidently built a hoiisc which 
stood imtil it was destroyed when Charlestown 
was burned at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 
There is no certain record of his ever visiting 
the place with which his name is forever asso- 
ciated, yet we know that within a few weeks 
of his arrival a Synod was held at Newtowne 
and it is altogether probable that he attended 
that meeting, coming over from Charlestown 
either on foot or on horseback. His whole 



life in New England extended over only a little 
more than a year, for he died of consumption 
on the I-lth day of September, 1638. His 
widow married the Rev. Thomas Allen, whose 
name appears in the records of the College 
as having paid over the timely legacy to the 
Committee. The bequest of John Harvard 
amounted to not quite four hundred pounds. 
The books which he also bequeathed give us 
some insight into the reading of a Puritan 
"lover of learning" He had brought with 
him across the sea more than two hundred 
and sixty volumes, among them not only 
Chrysostom and Calvin, Duns Scotus, and 
Luther, but Homer and Plutarch, Terence 
and Horace, Chapman's Homer, Bacon's 
Essays iind Advancement of Learning, and 
Camden's Remains. Was ever gift so mul- 
tiplied as the bequest of this obscure young 
scholar? By this act of ])ublic-spirited and 
well-directed munificence, this youth of thirty- 
one made for himself an imperishable name and 
enrolled himself among the foremost bene- 
factors of the American Commonwealth. 

Besides the liberality of the General Court 
for the foundation of the College and the legacy 
of John Harvard, gifts and benefits from indi- 
viduals were not wanting, biit it was " willing 
poverty" rather than wealth which gave. 
Among the gifts of the early days we read that 
the Rev. W. Allen sent two cows. Cotton 
cloth worth nine shillings was given by Richard 
Dana, the ancestor of another Richard Dana, 
who, nearly two hundred years later, when a 
student at Harvard, went for two years before 
the mast, and on his return gave the world a 
delightful book. The Rev. Mr. Latham, of 
Lancaster Coimty, England, sent five pounds. 
Sir Richard Saltonstall, a man of large means, 
gave generously and his descendants, for gen- 
eration after generation, have shown their 
love for Harv-ard by a continued bounty. 
Theophilus Gale, Fellow of Magdalen College, 
Oxford, "a leamed and industrious divine, 
as appears by his "Court of the Gentiles," 
and his "Vanity of Pagan Philosophy," be- 
queathed his library to the College. From 
the New England towns and villages, and even 
from distant settlements, contribvitions flowed 
in. Little Scarborough, away to the north 
in Maine, sent two poimds nine shillings and 



34 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRinnK, MASSACHUSETTS 



six pence, while from the far-distant South, 
the people of Eleutheria in the Bahamas, " out 
of their poverty," sent one hundred and twenty- 
four pounds. Smaller gifts came in, such as a 
pewter flagon worth ten shillings, a bell, a 
fruit-dish, a sugar-spoon, a silver tipped jug, 
one great salt, and one small trencher salt. 

One event in connection with the founding 
of the College 
was of equal 
importance to 
the town and to 
the Colony. In 
a letter datctl 
at Salem, Oclo- 
bcr 10th, 1638, 
Hugh Peters 
wrote, "We have 
a printerer here 
and think to go 
to work with 
some special 
things." This 
was a hand ])ress 
with which, in 
the summer of 
163 8, Jose 
Glover and his 
wife started from 
England. Glover 
died on the voy- 
age, but with 
him had started 
Stephen Daye, 
his wife and two 
children, and his 
stepson William 
Boardman, an- 
cestor of four 
successive stew- 
ards of Harvard 
College. In Jan- 
u a r y , 16 3 9, 
Stephen Daye 

brought the press to Cambridge and set it up 
there. The first "special thing" printed was 
the "Freeman's Oath," then an almanac made 
for New England by "Mr. William Peirce 
Mariner," the founder of the family which has 
produced the most distinguished of American 
mathematicians. These two were pamphlets. 




and the first little book printed in America 
was a metrical version of the Book of Psalms 
for use in the worship of the New England 
congregation. The press became "an append- 
age to Harvard College," and its establishment 
at Cambridge founded there a business for 
which the town has been and still is famous. 
The great establishments of the Riverside 

Press, the Uni- 
versity Press, 
and the Athe- 
naeum Press still 
make Cambridge 
the center of 
1) r i n t i n g in 
America, and 
send the charac- 
ter i s t i c Cam- 
bridge product 
all over the 
world. 

The a r r i \- a 1 
and installation 
in 1640 of Henry 
Dunster to be 
the first Presi- 
dent was an 
event of large 
si gnificance. 
Dunster was 
born at Bury, 
in Lancashire, 
on November 
26th, 1609, so 
he was only 
thirtj'--one when 
he became Presi- 
dent. He took 
his Bachelor's 
Degree at Cam- 
bridge, England, 
in 1630, and his 
Master's Degree 
in 1634. He 
was thus a contemporary at the University with 
John Harvard and John Milton. After leaving 
the University he appears to have engaged in 
teaching, though Cotton Mather speaks of his 
having "exercised his ministry" in England. 
He came to New England in the summer of 
1()40, and almost immediately upon his arrival 



STATUE OF JOHN H.^RV.\RD 



THE COLLEGE 



35 



he was invited to take charge of the hltle 
college which had barely escaped infanticide 
at the hands of Eaton. He was at first the 
sole teacher, and he also acted as Treasurer 
and General Manager. It appears that Dunster 
gave instruction not only in Greek and Latin, 
but also in Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac. At 
morning prayers his students were required 
to translate from the Hebrew scripture into 
Greek, and at evening prayers to retranslate 
the English text of the New Testament into 
Greek. As already noted Latin was the onlj^ 
language authorized on the college premises. 
Dunster also "exercised his gift" of preaching, 
l)oth in Cambridge and in the neighboring 
churches, so that it is obvious that his varied 
qualities and resources were given jilcnty of 
exercise. He was untiring in industry and 
faithful to every duty. Though his salary 
was very small and irregularly j)aid, he gave 
to the college not only his learning and his 
skilled labor, but also practically all of his 
limited estate, including one htmdred acres of 
land in Shawsheen, which he had purchased 
on his arrival as an investment for the little 
fund he had brought with him. This liber- 
ality quickened that of his fellow citizens, but 
it was always the hardest kind of a struggle 
to maintain the instittition. "I was and am 
willing," wrote Dtmster to Winthrop in 1(543, 
"considering the profit of the country to de- 
scend to the lowest step. If there can be 
nothing comfortable allowed me, I will sit 
down appeased, desiring not more than what 
may supply me and mine w-ith food and 
raiment to the furtherance of our labors for 
the good of the Church and the Common- 
wealth." It was Dimster, who thus joined 
with Harvard in laying the foundation, both 
educationally and materially, of the college. 

In the autumn of 1(H2 Governor Winthrop 
had the satisfaction of writing in his Journal: 

"Nine bachelors commenced at Cambridge; 
they were young men of good hope and per- 
formed their acts so as gave good proof of their 
proficiency in the tongues and arts. The 
General Court had settled a government or 
superintendency over the College, viz., all the 
magistrates and ciders over the six nearest 
churches and the president, or the greatest 
part of these. Most of them were now present 



at the first Commencement, and dined at the 
College with the scholars ordinary commons, 
which was done of purpose for the students' 
encouragement, and it gave good content to 
all." " 

A copy of the first Commencement pro- 
gramme, written in sonorous Latin, and dated 
September 2()th, l(i42, is still in existence. 
The titles of the theses in language, in rhetoric, 
in philosophy, justify Governor Winthrop's 
testimony to the proficiency of the young 
scholars. The names of the nine first gradu- 
ates are significant not only of the loyalty 
of the leaders of the Colony, but also of the 
jmrpose for which their little College was 
founded. At the head of the list stands the 
name of Benjamin Woodbridge, the son of a 
prominent Puritan minister in England, who 
had alread)' studied for several terms at Ox- 
ford. Plis brother. Rev. John Woodbridge, 
had come to Boston in 1634, had married 
Mercy, daughter of Thomas Dudley, and was 
settled as minister at Andover, Mass. Ben- 
jamin Woodbridge returned to England and 
was minister at Newbury for nearly fort\' 
years; enjoying "a mighty reputation as a 
scholar, a preacher, and a Christian." Though 
silenced by the Act of Uniformity, in 1662, he 
evidently continued to preach until his death 
in 1684. 

George Downing, whose name stands next, 
was a nephew of Governor Winthrop, the son 
of his sister Lticy. He came over with his 
parents in 163S and the family settled at Salem 
under the ministry of Hugh Peters. Downing 
had a strange and romantic career. At first 
he was employed as a tutor at the College at a 
salary of .£4 " to read to the junior pupils as 
the President shall see fit." Then he went to 
England by the way of the West Indies and 
next appears in the Parliamentary army, where 
he rose so fast that when not more than twenty- 
five years old he became a member of Crom- 
well's own staff and wrote the dispatch to 
Parliament announcing the victory at Worces- 
ter. He was Cromwell's agent sent to the Duke 
of Savoy to remonstrate against the persecution 
of the Waldenses in Piedmont, and was also a 
special ambassador to France. He became 
a member of Parliament and later minister 
to Holland. He changed sides at the Restora- 



36 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



tion and served Charles II as zealously as he 
had served the Commonwealth. His name 
appears often in Pepy's Diary, and he is de- 
scribed as "keen, bold, subtle, active and 
observant, but imperious and unscrupulous, 
actually preferring menace to persuasion, 
reckless of the means employed or the risks 
incurred in the pursuit of a proposed object." 
He was later Secretan*' of the Commissioners of 
the Treasury, and Downing Street, in London, 
where the Prime Minister lives, was named 
for him. He married Frances Howard, and 
so became allied with one of the noblest 
families of the English peerage. He died 
in 1()4S, leaving a reputation of a man of extra- 
ordinary,' force 
but of doubtful 
character and 
merit. 

John Bulklcy, 
the third gradu- 
ate, was the son 
of Rev. Peter 
Bulklcy, who 
had come to 
New England 
in 1635 and was 
the first min- 
ister at Con- 
cord, Mass. The 
younger Bulk- 
lcy served for 
a year or two 
with his class- 
mate Downing 
as a tutor to 

the College and then he, too, went to England 
and settled in the ministry at Fordham in the 
county of Essex. He was ejected by the Act 
of Unifonnit}' in 1662 and he died in London 
in 1689. This John Bulkley was one of the 
earliest benefactors of the College, for in 1635 
he gave to the College a piece of land "situate 
and near adjoining to the College, and ordered 
the same to be for the use of the Fellows that 
should from time to time belong to and be 
resident at the said .Society. The said Garden 
being commonly called and known by the 
name of the Fellows Orchard." This was a 
]3iece of ground lying to the east of the College 
building and stretching from what is now 




/^f/t^^/ie(^//a/jr/a//i' ^am6n/^ei/f'c)im Qn^^mfy. 



From the oldest known print of Harvard College, engraved in 1726. and representing 
the college as it appeared when ninety years old. The building on the right, 
Massachusetts Hall, is still in use. 



Massachusetts Avenue nearly to the present 
Library building. 

The next name on the list of the Class of 
1042 is that of William Hubbard, who later 
was settled in the ministry at Ipswich, Mass. 
He is remembered as the author of "A Narra- 
tive of the Trouble with the Indians," pub- 
lished in 1()77, and of a "History of New 
England," finished in HiSO. Hubbard kept 
up his connection with the College all his life, 
and we find him presiding at the Commence- 
ments of 1684 and of 1()88. He is recorded 
as "the most eminent minister in the county 
of Essex, equal to any in the province for 
learning and candor and superior to all of his 

contemporaries 
as a writer." 
He died in 
1704, aged 83. 
The next is 
Samuel Belling- 
ham, son of 
Richard Bell- 
ingham, a mem- 
ber of the Com- 
mittee in charge 
of the College 
and the future 
Governor. This 
man also r e - 
turned to Eng- 
land and later 
studied medicine 
at Leyden. He 
appears to have 
lived in or near 
London and never to ha\e relumed to New 
England. 

Then comes the name of John Wilson, the son 
of the Rev. John Wilson of the First Church in 
Boston. He became for a time an assistant to 
Rev. Richard Mather of Dorchester, and in 1(551 
was settled at Medfield, where he was minister 
for forty years, until his death in 11)91. 

Henry Saltonstall was the son of Sir Richard 
Saltonstall, one of the founders of the Colony. 
He returned to England and became a Fellow 
at Oxford. 

Tobias Barnard apparently returned to 
England soon after he graduated, and dis- 
appeared from sight; but the last of the nine 



THE COLLEGE 



37 



graduates, Nathaniel Brewster, had an honor- 
able eareer. lie was a Puritan minister in 
England and later in Ireland, where he received 
the Degree 
of Bachelor 
of Theolog\- 
fro m the 
University 
of Dublin. 
Ejected by 
the Act of 
Uniformil\- 
]v: returned 
to New Eng- 
1 a n d an d 
later settled 
as minister 
at Brook- 
haven, on 
Long Island . 
where his 
three sons 
lived. He 
c o n t i n u e d 
h i s w o r k 
there until 
his death 
in 1690 at 

I he age of 
70. 

With the 
completion 
of the build- 
ing, the sct- 

I I e m e n t o f 
the first 
President 
a n d t h e 
graduation 
of the first 
class, the 
founding ol" 
the College 
may be said 
to have been 
completed. 
By an act of 

the General Court on the 8th of September, 
1642, the Board of Overseers was established. 




.Sol, Dill: 



and in 16.S0 the Charter was granted under 
which the College is still administered. By 
this Charter the College was made a corpora- 

t i o n, con- 
sisting of the 
President, 
five Fellows 
and a Treas- 
urer, to be 
called by 
the name of 
the Presi- 
dent and 
Fellows of 
Harvard 
College. 
This Char- 
ter created 
Henry Dun- 
stcr, Presi- 
dent ; Sam- 
uel Mather. 
Samuel 
Danforth, 
J o n a t h a n 
Mitchell. 
Comfort 
Starr, and 
Samuel 
Eaton, the 
five Fellows, 
and Henry 
B e 1 k n a ] ) , 
Treasurer. 
The Charter 
I ) e a r s the 
signature 
' if "Thomas 
Dudley. 
Governor." 
It must 
ha\-e given 
Governor 
Dudle\- pro- 
found satis- 
faction to 
sign the 
paper which thus gave i)ermanent distinction 
to the town which he had done so much to plant . 



>r<lNI \1|:N I . (' AMIllMriGK CllMMOX. 



V 



THE COLONY 



THE year 1(111 is the year in which the 
adoption of the Great Remonstrance 
showed that the Long Parliament of 
England understood its duty and could do it. 
"If the vote had been lost," said Cromwell, 
" I would have soJd all I had and never have 
seen England more." That meant that he 
would have emigrated to Massachusetts. He 
would have arrived just in time for the first 
Commencement of Harvard College, just as 
the General Court was striking the name of 
King Charles I out of the oath of allegiance, 
and just as four of the New England colonies 
were planning their confederation. He would 
have found Massachusetts a well ordered, self- 
controlled community of more than twenty 
thousand people, with all the necessary insti- 
tutions of government, education and religion 
in operation. He would have found churches, 
schools and college, rudely housed indeed, but 
with all the essential elements of efficiency 
provided, a code of law adopted by the will 
of the people and resolutely administered, a 
representative system of government working 
smoothly and successfully, and a people prac- 
ticing all the industries required for their 
separate maintenance. He would have fotmd, 
in short, the completed fotmdations of what is 
now the most prosperous democracy in the 
world. 

Here, on a clear field, imocctipied by any 
organized society, with no pre-existent institu- 
tions to cumber the ground, the experiment 
of planting and constructing a civil and ecclesi- 
astical government was being successfully 
worked out. No external power had been 
suffered to interfere, and no Old World pre- 
cedents allowed to claim authority. No noble 
proprietor, nor commercial corporation, dictated 
the procedure. The whole plan of action was 
formulated without suggestions or influence 
from any outside quarter, by the people on the 
spot. They were a chosen people, intelligent, 
thoughtful, Ijravc and devout. They were 



well actjuaintcd with the ancient and feudal 
forms of government but they applied none 
of them here. Having a new cotmtry to dwell 
in, they resolved to establish nothing but what 
their own experience should prove to be neces- 
sary or desirable. In this respect the New 
England colonies differed from most of the 
other American plantations. General Ogle- 
thorpe planned the social and political system 
of Georgia, John Locke drafted a contrivance 
of government for the Carolinas, Lord Balti- 
more superintended Maryland, William Pcnn 
planted and ruled Pennsylvania, and other 
proprietors and patrons controlled their several 
settlements. But the founders of Massachu- 
setts tried every step for themselves, they held 
fast only to what they themselves discovered 
to be appropriate and efificient. By the con- 
sent and initiation of the people all the essential 
features of a stable commonwealth were 
stamped into the fabric of society in the first 
twenty years of the Colony. 

This is no insignificant fact in the history 
of liberty. One hundred and forty-six years 
before the Declaration of Independence of the 
United States, Massachusetts was an inde- 
pendent government and continued so for 
more than half a century. It was more inde- 
pendent in this colonial period than it ever has 
been since. After the abolition of the first 
charter in 1(JS4, Massachusetts became a royal 
province. Its governors were appointed by 
the king and the roj'al assent was needed to 
give validity to its laws. Since the adoption 
of the Constitution of the United States, Massa- 
chusetts has been in many respects and to a 
considerable extent subjects to the law adopted 
by Congress for the general welfare of the 
nation. During the first fifty-four years, 
however, the people of Massachusetts were as 
free to rule themselves as if they had lived on 
another planet. TheA^ chose all their own 
administrators, asked the approval of no 
authority for their laws, .suffered no appeal to 



THE COLONY 



39 



any higher tribunal, and bowed to no rulers 
save those of their own free choice. 

It is further significant that a more etlicicnt 
government for the preservation of order and 
the promotion of the common welfare has never 
existed anywhere. Nothing can siirjjass the 
spirit, courage, ability and success with which 
the people of Massachusetts withstood and 
repelled all the demands or possible encroach- 
ments from the mother country. L(.eal 
ofTences were rebuked and disorder suppressed 
by decisive measures. No rank nor station, 
no popidar afTeclion, no respect for particular 
persons, however eminent, could obstruct the 
course of an even-handed justice. The General 
Coiirt in the exercise of its sovereignty treated 
all men alike, those of its own body as well as 
those without. The most distinguished men 
of the community were brought to the bar, 
when they offended, as promptly as the mean- 
est. John Winthrop himself suffered the 
rebuke of his colleagues. Thomas Dtidley was 
admonished. Sir Richard Saltonstall was 
fined. John Endicott was disqualified tem- 
porarily from holding office and committed 
for contempt of the court. The severities of 
the penal code adopted by the General Court 
have often been condemned by the historical 
writers of a more humane age, but it should 
be remembered that this code was far in ad- 
vance of the habits of the most enlightened 
countries in the seventeenth century. More 
than one hundred years passed before England 
adopted a code so just and mild as the New 
England " Body of Liberties." If the Puritans 
based their penal laws upon the Old Testament, 
that was itself a standard far in advance of 
the common usage of their day. In fact they 
did not always follow the details of the Hebrew 
law. It was a gratification to them when they 
found confirmation of their principles in the 
Scriptures, and they often availed themselves 
of that support. Nevertheless, it is true that 
in their secular administration they sought, 
first, to put into practice the principles that 
can stand the test of all time. Rightly, as a 
well qualified critic has affirmed, "Our an- 
cestors, instead of deducing all their laws from 
the Books of Moses, established, at the outset, 
a code of fundamental principles, which, taken 
as a whole, for wisdom, equity, adaptation 



to the wants of their community, and a liber- 
ality of sentiment superior to the age in which 
it was written, may fearlessly challenge com- 
parison with any similar production, from 
Magna Charta itself to the latest iiill of Rights 
that has Ijeen put forth in Europe or America." 

The geographical boundaries of the Colony 
and the frame-work of its government were 
outlined in the Charter granted to the Massa- 
chusetts Company by Charles the First. The 
liberal terms of this Charter plainly indicate 
that the King was not loath to have sxich 
tin-lndcnt subjects betake themselves across 
the Atlantic. He was quite ready to expedite 
their departure and to speed an enterprise 
which woiild take such sturdy o])ponents of 
his policies comfortably out of the way. 

The Charter jjrovided that the officers of 
the company shotdd be a governor, a deputy- 
governor, and eighteen assistants, to be chosen 
anntuilly. To the governor and assistants was 
given power and authority to choose "as many 
freemen as they shall think fit; to elect and 
constitute such officers as they shall deem 
requisite for the ordering, managing and de- 
spatching the afTairs of the governor and 
company," and, in flcneral Court assembled, 
"to make laws and ordinances for the good and 
welfare of the said Company and ordering of 
the said lands and plantation, and the people 
inhabiting and to inhabit the same, as to them 
from time to time shall be thought meet; so 
that such laws and ordinances be not contrary 
or repugnant to the laws and statutes of this 
our realm of England," and further, "from 
time to time to make, ordain and establish 
all manner of wholesome and reasonable orders, 
laws, statutes and ordinances, directions and 
instructions, not contrary to the laws of this 
our realm of England, for the settling of the 
forms and ceremonies of government and magis- 
tracy there," and to name the officers they 
shall appoint, define their duties and prescribe 
the administering of oaths to them. 

The Charter gave to the members of the 
Company the express and absolute right to 
admit new associates. The persons thus 
admitted became full partners and equal 
members of the Company and were called 
Freemen. Had the original members been 
actuated by selfish motives and retained their 



40 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



rights as a close corporation, the fortunes of 
the plantation and their own fame would have 
been brief and ignoble. They were, however, 
so generous and enlightened as to almost at 
once transfer their authority to the people 
of the Colony itself. 

The steps by which the Massachusetts plan- 
tation became a self-governing and inde- 
pendent colony are very interesting to follow. 
They arc closely associated with the history 
of Cambridge, for not only were Cambridge 
citizens among the foremost to promote the 
successive advances, but many of the important 
decisions were made upon Cambridge soil or 
had direct relation to Cambridge events. 

The first session of the General Court for 
elections in the Colony was held at Boston, 
May 18, 1G31. At this session, one hundred 
and sixteen persons took the oath and were 
admitted as Freemen. The further purpose 
of the Court to place all final power in the 
hands of the people themselves was indicated 
at the same meeting by a vote which gave 
authoritj' to the Freemen to nominate candi- 
dates for assistants. It was ordered that 
"once in every year, at least, a General Court 
shall be holden, at which court it shall be 
lawful for the commons to propotmd any person 
or persons whom they shall desire to be chosen 
assistants, and if it be doubtful whether it be 
the greater part of the commons or not, it 
shall be put to the poll. The like course to 
be holden when they, the said commons, shall 
see cause for any defect or misbehavior, to 
remove any one or more of the assistants." 

The next vital question about political 
matters was raised over an issue in which 
Cambridge was closely involved. As early 
as February, 1632, a warrant was sent out by 
the Court of Assistants to levy a tax of £60 
for the expense of building the stockade at 
Newtowne. The minister and people of Water- 
town protested against the payment of their 
assessment and urged "that it was not safe 
to pay monies after that sort, for fear of bring- 
ing themselves and posterity into bondage." 
They insisted that the Court of Assistants had 
no right to levy taxes without authorit\- from 
the people. 

The Assistants at once summoned the people 
by a warrant to a session of the Coitrt and there 



pointed out that no rights of the Freemen had 
been disregarded, that the Assistants could be 
elected only by the Freemen, who had the right 
to remove them and elect others in their places, 
and that at every General Court the Freemen 
had the right to consider and propound any- 
thing regarding the government, and to declare 
their grievances freely. This explanation for 
the time satisfied the Watertown people, and 
they made a retraction of their plea, and were 
enjoined to read it in the assembly the next 
Lord's day. 

Nevertheless, this question of the right of 
the Assistants to assess taxes upon the towns 
without the consent of the people, although 
temporarily disposed of, was a live issue and 
brought about the first significant alteration 
in the plan of government. At the session 
of the Court which was held in the succeeding 
May an order was passed, apparently by general 
consent, "that there should be two of every 
plantation appointed to confer with the Court 
about raising of a public stock," and the ap- 
pointments were made at the session. The 
purpose of this order was to have a representa- 
tion from the Freemen to advise with the 
Assistants in the laying of taxes. It was a 
step towards the organization of two branches 
of the General Court. 

In accordance with this vote two persons 
were appointed from Watertown, Roxbury, 
Boston, Saugtis, Newtowne, Charlestown, 
Salem and Dorchester, the eight towns which 
had been organized. 

The next advance in the political methods 
of the little Colony was the adoption of a 
representative system. It was ordered, "That 
four General Courts be kept every year; that 
the whole body of the Freemen should be 
present only at the Court of Election of Magis- 
trates, and that, at the other three, every town 
should send their deputies, who should assist 
in making laws and disposing lands." These 
deputies began to sit as a separate house in 
1644 and the framework of the government 
was then complete. 

The most distinctive decision and the one 
which has not stood the test of time and experi- 
ence, was the attempt to limit the franchise 
to chiirch members, in the effort to secure a 
scrupulously moral and intelligent electorate. 



THE COLONY 



41 



As early as Kiijl the General Court jKisscd the 
following order: "To the end that the body of 
the commons may be preserved of honest and 
good men, it was likewise ordered and agreed 
that for time to come no man shall be admitted 
to the freedom of this body politic, Imt such 
as are members of the churches within the 
limits of the same." 

This vote has often been derided or vised to 
illustrate the fundamental narrowness of the 
Massachusetts men. Whatever we mav think 
of its wisdom and exj)ediency today it was 
absolutely in accord with the clearly defined 
purposes of the Company. 

The excellent and revered John White, of 
the English Dorchester, the original promoter 
of the Massachusetts Colony, in his " Planters' 
I'lca," written in 1G30, had well defined the 
necessary limitations of the enlistment for 
the enterprise. "The persons chosen out for 
this employment," he wrote, "ought to be 
willing, constant, industrious, obedient, frugal, 
lovers of the common good, or, at least, such 
as may be easily wrought to this temper; con- 
sidering that works of this nature try the 
undertakers with many difficulties, and easily 
discourage minds of base and weak temper." 
With equal force and frankness, he described 
the persons who were not suitable: 

" Men noiirished up in idleness, unconstant 
and affecting novelties, unwilling, stubborn, 
inclined to faction, covetous, luxurious, prodi- 
gal and generally men habituated to any gross 
evil, are no fit members of a colony." 

There has always been a widesjjread mis- 
understanding of the motives and purposes 
of the founders of Massachusetts. It is not 
uncommonly supposed that they came hither, 
to use the words of the most distinguished 
historian of New England, "to place a colon}' 
which should be a refuge for civil antl religious 
freedom." Such a purpose, however, finds no 
expression in the words of the planters of 
Massachusetts themselves. Indeed, it may 
be justly said that they never achieved or 
desired any knowledge of what religious free- 
dom, as we understand it, means. It is alto- 
gether probable that if it had been defined 
to them they would have rejected it with ab- 
horrence. What they really sought is best set 
forth in the little treatise which John Winthroji 



wrote in the cabin of the Arbella in the course 
of the voyage. There we read that "the work 
we have in hand" is "to seek out a place of 
cohabitation and consortship imder a due form 
of government both civil and ecclesiastical." 
It is a mistake to flatter the founders of Massa- 
chusetts by ascribing to them purposes which 
to us today seem pecidiarly worthy and high- 
minded, but which they never cherished. 
They do not need such defense or vindication. 
On the other hand it is an equal error to censure 
them upon the assumption that they came to 
America fleeing from religious persecution and 
then in Xuvn became persecutors themselves. 
Both critics and defenders fail in justice because 
they assume a ptirpose which never existed. 
Not a single sentence can be quoted from any 
of their writings which justifies the contention 
that they sought or desired religious freedom 
for all men. It was entirely in accord with 
their fundamental motives that they restricted 
the rights of citizenship to those who accepted 
their religious covenants; that they punished 
the intruders whose ways and opinions offended 
them, and that they banished the people who 
raised strife or dissent. 

It should also be remembered that the 
charter of the Company gave to the General 
Court "full and absohite power and authority 
to correct, punish, pardon and rule," all the 
people within the bounds of their jurisdiction, 
and that they had further power to repel and 
resist all interlopers or persons who were not 
in sympathy with their habits of thought and 
life. No power short of this woidd have secured 
the enlistment of the kind of people who made 
up the Massachusetts Company. They re- 
quired the right of self-administration, the 
right of admitting those whom they pleased 
to be their associates, and the power to expel 
all who might threaten or annoy them in the 
progress of their great experiment of establish- 
ing "a due form of government both civil and 
ecclesiastical." Their enterprise was no hap- 
hazard adventure. It was imdertaken with 
serious earnestness, with resolute piirposc, and 
upon a far-seeing and comprehensive plan 
which was steadfastly adhered to through good 
report and ill. Through much toil and suffer- 
ing they esUiblished a "body politic," all of 
whose \isages and institutions were adapted 



/ 



42 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



to the Itiltilment of their ideal, — not our ideal, 
— of a Christian Commonwealth. 

Two serious misgivings only were known to 
them, — that they themselves by fault or in- 
firmity might fail of fidelity to their ideal, or 
that it should be brought into peril through 
the waywardness of those who by love of 
novelty or hope of gain might creep in among 
them. Against the first danger they sought 
security under their solemn religious covenants 
and by continuous exhortation to patience, 
courage and devotion to the standards of 
thought and conduct which they discovered 
in the Bible. Against the second peril they 
protected themselves by exercising their 
authority to thwart and drive out from amongst 
them those who were unsympathetic or of less 
earnest purpose than themselves. They gladly 
welcomed newcomers who were of spirit and 
purpose like their own, but they were keen 
and rigid in their scrutiny of those whose sin- 
cerity or whose moral character or whose ad- 
hesion to Puritan principles were doubtful. 
They especially distrusted the people who 
believed themselves favored with private and 
personal revelations in matters of theology. 
They were beset by all sorts of crude and whim- 
sical fanatics, men and women, who had come 
to the new world expecting to find an unsettled 
state of affairs in which they would have free 
range for their eccentricities. These persons 
were, as a rule, blameless in character and they 
would probably pass unnoticed in the atmos- 
phere and the thronging popiilation of Massa- 
chusetts today. In the early days, however, 
they were a source of grave concern and the 
General Court disposed of them in a manner 
which, if it was severe and high-handed, was 
at the same time perfectly legal and actuated 
by a complete assurance that justice and right 
were alike being served. The magistrates did 
not feel themselves bound to give any reasons 
for warning ofT or expelling factious people 
save that they deemed them "unmeet to 
inhabit here." They insisted on their charter 
right to judge and act for themselves. 

The first conspicuous subject of what is de- 
nounced as the intolerance of the Massachusetts 
Puritans was Roger Williams. Williams came 
to Massachusetts in the first year of the Colony, 
an ardent, restless, self-willed yoimg prophet 



of "soul-liberty." He was not a member of 
the Company and never became a Freeman. 
He was a rigid Sejniratist and John Quincy 
Adams characterized him accurately when he 
said of liini that he was "a conscientiously con- 
tentious man." The opinions and the jniblic 
speech of Williams in the days of his youthful 
zeal and self-confidence were an affront to the 
most cherished Puritan principles. Though 
a man of iincommon ability and sincere piety 
he was belligerent, aggressive and obstinate. 
At one time, indeed, he humbly confessed that 
he was in error and submitted to the judgment 
of the Court. That is, however, the only 
instance known to us in all his life of his yielding 
his own judgment, and in that instance he soon 
repented of his penitence and engaged again 
in acrimonious dispute. Finally, in 1(135, by 
the judgment of the Court sitting at Cambridge 
he was required to "depart from the juris- 
diction" and went on his way to the settle- 
ment of Providence. It is well to remember 
that as he grew older he mellowed. He was 
tatight patience by having to deal in his own 
colony with just such rankling opponents as 
he had himself been in Massachusetts. He 
grew also to appreciate the personal kind- 
nesses which he received from his former 
comrades, even those who in the exercise 
of their authority had had to deal with 
him as a dangerous and mischievous offender. 
Williams never felt any malice toward those 
who had "enlarged" him and he wrote in the 
terms of deepest respect for " that ever-honored 
Governor, Mr. Winthrop," who, he said, 
"advised him for many high and heavenly 
and public ends," to steer his course to Narra- 
gansett Bay. 

The next occasion of discord had still more 
intimate connection with Cambridge, for the 
courts and synods that decided the case 
were held on the common or in the Cambridge 
meeting-house. Anne Hutchinson, with her 
husband, William Hutchinson, "a gentleman 
of good estate and reputation" had reached 
Boston in September, 1034. They had been 
followers of John Cotton in the Lincolnshire 
Boston and wished to continue to enjoy his 
preaching. The first mention of Mrs. Hutchin- 
son in John Winthrop's journal bears the date 
October 21, 1()3(). He there describes her as 



THE COLONY 



43 



I 



"a member of the church of Boston, a woman 
of ready wit and bold spirit," who was promul- 
gating certain dangerous heresies. Her brother- 
in-law, a minister named Wheelwright, was 
her supporter, and it appeared that the Gov- 
cnior, young Henry Vane, at least two of the 
assistants and the majority of the Boston 
church shared her opinions. What those 
opinions were it is a little difficult to ascertain, 
or at least it is difficult in these days to under- 
stand why the declaration of them could have 
caused such a tumult. Apparently Mrs. 
Hutchinson maintained that good conduct was 
not a satisfactory evidence of piety, and the 
best evidence of spiritual attainment was the 
inner assurance. In the theological language 
her heresy consisted in insisting that " the 
person of the Holy Ghost dwells in a justified 
person," and that "no sanctification can help 
to evidence to us our justification." In Octo- 
ber, 1(33(), it was proposed that Mr. Wheel- 
wright be invited to serve the Boston Church 
as its teacher to the practical exclusion of Mr. 
Wilson who had been prompt to disavow Mrs. 
Hutchinson's heresies, while his colleague, 
Mr. Cotton, was understood to be somewhat 
sympathetic with them. The tact of Win- 
throp secured a call for Mr. Wheelwright to 
the charge of a new church at Mount W^ollaston, 
but the controversy went on and the excitement 
increased. The matter got into politics and 
at the General Court in March, IGSfi-oT, con- 
tentions ran so high, that, although it had been 
so recently declared that " Boston is the fittest 
place for publique meetings of any place in the 
Bay," it was determined that the Court of 
Elections should not be held there. It was 
thereupon held in Newtowne, soon to he 
Cambridge, where, after scenes of tumult, 
Winthrop was again chosen Governor and 
Dudley Deputy-governor, while Vane, after 
a single year's service, was not even included 
among the Assistants. It was during this 
election that the first "Stump Speech" was 
made in this part of the world and by no less 
a person than the Rev. John Wilson. Mr. 
Wilson having " got up on the bough of a tree," 
made a speech which was said to have turned 
the scale against the " Antinomians," as Mrs. 
Hutchin.son's party was called. 

This election was evidently regarded as a 



most critical occasion. The fate of the Colony 
hung in the balance. Judge Scwall wrote 
years afterwards, " My father has told me many 
a time that he and others went on foot, forty 
miles from Newbury to Cambridge, on purpose 
to be made freemen and help to strengthen 
Governor Winthrop's party." Two months 
after his defeat yoimg Vane embarked for 
England and never returned to America. It 
shotdd, however, be remembered to his credit, 
that in spite of his mortification, he afterwards, 
when he held important positions in Parliament 
and the government, was ever a wise and stead- 
fast friend of New England. 

Meanwhile, the political issues disposed of, 
the theological questions were debated by a 
synod or conference that sat for three weeks 
at Cambridge. Mrs. Hutchinson was interro- 
gated and defended her opinions with remark- 
able ability and skill, but she was finally ex- 
communicated and forced to leave the Colony. 
Wheelwright was banished. Six years after- 
wards he soiight pardon for "the vehement 
and censorious spirit which he had shown," 
and his sentence was recalled. The victory 
of those who believed in preserving inviolate 
the orthodoxy of the colonists was complete. 

The proceedings of the courts and synods 
in this case are not commended or approved by 
the more liberal judgment of later generations 
but it is certain that the Massachusetts rulers 
had no conception that the methods which 
they employed and which are now justly seen 
to have been harsh and arbitrary were in the 
least blameworthy. Their acts are candidly 
entered upon the records and never apologized 
for. It is not necessary now to palliate the 
severities or even to assent to the wisdom or 
expediency of the measures employed. It is 
not necessary to vindicate the Puritans or to 
approve of their theories or to endorse all 
their acts, but justice requires us to look not 
only at the actions but also at the motives of 
those who, in the exercise of their rightful 
authority, did what they believed to be their 
diity. 

In 1638 the colony was called on to confront 
a peremptory demand from the Lords Com- 
missioners in England for the surrender of the 
charter, coupled with the threat of sending 
over a General Governor from England. But, 



44 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



happily, diplomatic delays were interposed 
and the direct issue was "avoided and pro- 
tracted" by the discreet management of 
Governor Winthrop, until the King and his 
ministers became too much engrossed with 
their own condition at home to think more 
about their colonies. The charter was saved 
for another half century. 

The year Hill was rendered memorable by 
the ado])tion of a code of laws, a hundred in 
number, and known as " the Body of Liberties." 
It had been prepared by Nathaniel Ward, 
pastor of the Ipswich Church, who had been 
bred to the law in his youth. This code is 
purely a Puritan product but its spirit is 
nevertheless curiously modem. The law of 
England at that time enumerated some thirty 
crimes and misdemeanors that were punishable 
by death. The New England law reduced this 
number to twelve. The spirit of the code is 
disclosed in the opening paragraph where we 
read, "No man's life shall be taken away; 
no man's honor or good name shall be stained; 
no man's person shall be arrested, restrained, 
punished, dismembered, nor in any ways 
damaged; no man shall be deprived of his 
wife or children; no man's goods or estate shall 
be taken away nor in any way endangered 
under cover of law, unless it be by virtue or 
equity of some expressed law of the country 
warranting the same, established by the Gen- 
eral Court and squarely published, or, in case 
of a defect of the law in any particular case, 
by the word of God." 

This code was very carefully debated and 
altered by the General Court, then sent into 
all the towns for consideration, revised and 
amended by the General Court, and then 
adopted. 

As the Body of Liberties set forth the civic 
and legal principles of the Massachusetts 
people, so the "Cambridge Platform" set forth 
the principles of church organization. The 
first synod or general counsel of the churches 
was held at Cambridge in connection with the 
antinomian controversy. This assembly was 
called by the General Court and the traveling 
expenses of the ministers and delegates who 
came from a distance were paid from the 
colonial treasury. The synod began at Cam- 
bridge, on August oO, KiiiT, and was held in the 



meeting-house. It was composed of "all the 
teaching elders through the country and some 
new come out of England not called to any 
place here." There were about twenty-tive 
ministers thus gathered and with them sat 
the Massachusetts magistrates who took i)art 
in the debates but not in the voting. There 
were also a number of deputies from the lay 
members of the churches who both spoke and 
voted. The synod was thus distinctly repre- 
sentative of the churches and it emphasized 
the growing sense of community and respon- 
sibility. The result of this synod was to up- 
hold the action of the Court in the case of Mrs. 
Hutchinson and her friends. It was in session 
for nearly a month and the results were so 
satisfactory that Governor Winthrop proposed 
that such synods should be annually held, but 
this suggestion was disapproved. 

A second convention was held at Cambridge 
in September, 1643, with John Cotton and 
Thomas Hooker for its moderators, and this 
gathering approved Winthrop's suggestion 
and urged that a new General Council be called 
to give to the churches "one uniform order of 
discipline." It took some time to carry out 
this decision, but on May 15, KUC), the General 
Court invited the churches of the four federated 
colonies to send their ministers and delegates 
to meet at Cambridge on the first of September 
"there to discuss, dispute and clear up, by the 
word of God, such questions of church govern- 
ment and discipline as they shall think needful 
and meet." It was this synod which adopted 
the Cambridge Platform as an ecclesiastical 
constitution in seventeen chapters. The draft 
of this celebrated document was made by the 
Rev. Richard Mather of Dorchester, and it was 
furnished with a preface by John Cotton. 
The Platform was duly published and after 
some time approved by the General Court, 
and it continued the recognized standard of 
theology and government in the New England 
churches throughout the colonial period. 

A still greater event of 1(141, and one of the 
most significant events in the early history of 
the country, was the final formation of that 
New England Confederation or Union, by 
written articles of agreement, which is the 
original exartiple and pattern of whatever 
unions or confederations have since been pro- 



THE COLONY 



45 



posed or established on the American conti- 
nent. This agreement was adopted by the 
four Colonics, — Massachusetts and Plymouth, 
Connecticut and New Haven, — the four which 
were afterwards consolidated into two. It 
was formed by those who were "desirous of 
union and studious of peace," and it embodied 
principles, and recognized rights, and estab- 
lished precedents which have entered largely 
into the composition of all articles of confedera- 
tion or instruments of union. It had been 
proposed as early as l(i;!7, and Governor 
Winthrop had labored unceasingly to accom- 
l)lish it for six years. He was recognized as 
its principal promoter by Thomas Hooker 
in a remarkable letter, thanking him for the 



"speciall prudence" with which he had laljored 
"to settled a foundation of safet}' and pros- 
perity in succeeding ages," and for laying, with 
his faithful assistants, "the first stone of the 
foundation of this combynation of peace." 
The little congress of commissioners was held 
and organized in Boston on the 7th (17th) of 
September, 1(14:5, and Winthrop was elected 
the first president. The same day of the same 
month, nearly a hundred and fifty years later, 
was to mark the adoption of the Constitution 
of the United States, in which it is not difficult 
to discern some provisions which may have 
owed their origin to the Articles of the New 
England Confederation. 



VI 



THE COMMUNITY 



THE characteristic feature of New 
England from the beginning was the 
fact that its inhabitants dwelt together 
in towns. This peculiarity was fruitful in its 
political and social consequences. It differen- 
tiated the social structure of the New England 
colonies from their neighbors to the south, 
where, as in Virginia, the large land owners 
lived apart from one another on considerable 
estates. One obvious cause of this difference 
was the character of the soil and its products, 
but another and more potent reason was the 
ecclesiastical system of the New England 
people. The town was an organization for 
united worship as well as for the conduct of 
secular affairs. The inhabitants placed their 
houses as near as possible to the meeting-house. 
To the meeting-house all the people went twice 
on Sunday, and it was the center of the whole 
community life. In addition to their house- 
lots, most of the people, as we have seen in 
the account of the settling of Cambridge, 
secured grants of wood lots and pasture lands 
and a considerable section of each town was 
set aside for commons. Each town was a little 
commonwealth, having its officers chosen by 
popular vote and its own deliberative assembly, 
where public measures of local interest were 
discussed and determined. In these village 
parliaments the democratic idea in its original 
form was realized. The executive authorities 
of each town were the constable, the selectmen 
or townsmen, the town clerk and various 
minor officers. 

The boundaries of the original Newtowne 
were very limited. Its territory was, however, 
soon enlarged by a large grant of land south 
of the river, and at the General Court held in 
March, 1636, it was agreed that the bounds 
of the town should extend eight miles into 
the country' northward from the meeting- 
house, thus including half of the present town 
of Lexington. In 1641, 1642 and 1644, the 
town received additional grants, consisting 



mainly of the territory then called Shawshin. 
which carried the northern boundary nearly 
to the Merrimac. At this period of its greatest 
size the town thus extended in a curiously 
irregiilar line, more than thirty miles in length, 
from a point several miles to the south of the 
Charles, almost to the Merrimac, and included 
the greater part, if not the whole, of Brighton, 
Newton, Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, 
Bedford, Billerica and portions of Belmont 
and Winchester. It should be remembered 
that the land near Mount Auburn at this time 
belonged to Watertown, and that where East 
Cambridge and Cambridgeport now are, was 
then an tminhabited region of marsh, meadow 
and tangled forest growth. On May 29, 1655, 
with the consent of Cambridge, the ShawShin 
grant became the township of Billerica. On 
August 27, 1679, Cambridge Village, as it was 
called, was organized as a separate town, which 
later received the name of Newton, and on 
March 20, 1713, "Cambridge Farms" was 
set off and organized as Lexington. Little 
Cambridge and Menotomy (Brighton and 
Arlington) remained a part of the town for 
nearly another century. 

The records of the town and of the selectmen 
of Cambridge from 1630 to 1703 have been 
carefully collected and printed, and graphic- 
ally illustrate the diligence of the local admin- 
istrators. The chief business in the early 
years was the allotment of land to the inhabi- 
tants, and as the land was taken up the records 
abound in votes about the care of the sheep 
and cattle, the cutting of timber on the com- 
mon, the adjustment of disputes about boimd- 
aries, the surveying of lots and farms, and the 
ordering of the highways. The great events 
of the village history find due mention, the 
building of the new meeting-house in 1649, 
and of the parsonage in 1669, the successive 
settlement of the ministers of the town, and 
the building of the "Great Bridge," in 1660- 
1664. This latter undertaking was no small 



THE COMMUNITY 



47 



enterprise. A causeway had to be constructed 
across the marsh at the foot of what is now 
Boylston Street, and a bridge l)uilt which 
would stand the crush of the ice as it moved 
up and down the river with the tides. The 
cost of the undertaking fell heavily on the 
settlement, but citizens of neighboring towns 
helped with private svibscriptions, and the 
General Court later required the other towns 
of Middlesex Cotmty that used the bridge as 
miich as Cambridge to contrilnite to the cost 
of maintenance. 

The Cambridge settlers, like all the New 
England people, were remarkably homogene- 
ous in race and in spirit. They were of pure 
English stock. Their traditions, their religi- 
ous convictions, their ideas about forms of 
government and the administration of jiistice 
were practically identical. There were very 
few social distinctions. Some of the pioneers 
had been in England substantial country 
gentlemen and others had been merchants of 
considerable means, but in New England there 
were no large landedestates and there was nolaw 
of entail. The magistrates, who were generally 
chosen from the most respected families, and 
on account of their own worth, were held in 
a certain honor. The military offices in the 
several towns were also posts of honor and the 
regular days for military drill were occasions 
of importance. It was also the ciistom to 
allot the seats of the congregation in the 
meeting-house with regard to the dignity of its 
members, an order of precedence which was 
carefully determined. Nevertheless, as in all 
pioneer communities, all the people labored, 
debated and worshipped together. Trial by 
jury was early established in the Massachu- 
setts Colony. There were town courts and 
county courts, and above them the Court of 
Assistants, and the General Court, to which 
appeal might be carried in important cases. 
The decision of the magistrates was final. 
There was never any recognition of the control 
of the common law of England, and any effort 
to take appeals to an English court or king 
was sure to fail. 

The military force of the Massachusetts 
Colony was a militia in which all the men 
between the ages of sixteen and sixty were 
enrolled. They were required to furnish their 



own arms, which consisted of pikes, muskets 
and swords. The muskets had matchlocks 
or flintlocks, and to each one there was "a pair 
of bandoleers, or pouches, for powder and 
bullets," and a stick called a rest, for use in 
taking aim. The pikes were ten feet in length, 
besides the spear at the end. For defensive 
armor corselets were worn, and coats quilted 
with cotton. 

The unit of the militia was the train-band 
of each town, consisting usually of from fifty to 
two htmdred men. The commissioned officers of 
each train-band were a captain, a lieutenant 
and an ensign. Company trainings took place, 
at first, every Saturday; and later once a 
month. They were begun and closed with 
l)rayer. The only martial music was that of 
the drvmi. In 1644 Massachusetts had twenty- 
six train-bands, and "a very gallant horse 
troop." The companies were gathered into 
regiments, which generally represented a 
county. There was, thus, a Suffolk, a Middle- 
sex and an Essex regiment. Over the whole 
force of the Colony was a major-general, sub- 
ordinate only to the governor. 

Cambridge citizens had a very active part 
in all these military matters. Thomas Dudley 
was the first major-general, John Ilaynes was 
the colonel of the Middlesex regiment, and 
Roger Harlakenden the lieutenant-colonel. 
The Cambridge train-band was commanded 
by George Cooke, afterwards one of Cromwell's 
colonels, and its ensign was Samuel Shepard 
who also later served as a major in the Parlia- 
mentary army. Joseph Cooke succeeded his 
brother as cajjtain, but was soon relieved b}' 
Daniel Gookin, who retained the office for forty 
years, rising meanwhile to the command of 
all the Middlesex militia, and in 1681 to be 
major-general. 

Houses of public entertainment were natur- 
ally established early in the Massachusetts 
towns, but great caution w-as taken in the 
licensing of "grave and responsible citizens." 
On September 8, 1636, Thomas Chesholm, 
deacon of the First Church, got a license to 
"keep a house of entertainment at Newtown," 
and four years later he was licensed "to draw 
wine at Cambridge." His tavern stood on 
Dunster Street, just back of the meeting- 
house, and he apparently kept it until his 



48 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



death in lliTl. Mcanwliilc, another deacon 
of the church, Nathaniel Sparhawk, was 
"permitted to draw wine and strong water 
in Cambridge." His house was on the easterly 
side of Boylston Street, one-half way between 
Harvard Square and Mt. Auburn Street. In 
1652 we find the first record of the famous 
Blue Anchor Tavern. In that year "the 
townsmen granted liberty to Andrew Belcher 
to sell beer and provide entertainment for 
strangers," and two years later the County 
Court granted him a license "to keep a house 
of public entertainment at Cambridge." Mr. 
Belcher was a highly-respected man. His 
son, Andrew Belcher, Jr., became a member 
of the Provincial Council, and his grandson, 
Jonathan Belcher, became governor of Massa- 
chusetts. The sign of the Blue Anchor was 
displayed on the northeast comer of Boylston 
and Mt. Auburn Streets, and the Belcher 
family continued to be innholders until 1705. 
The building continued to be a tavern up to 
1737, when the sign of the Blue Anchor was 
transferred across the street and there con- 
tinued for nearly a century. 

It is not difficult to reconstruct a rough 
picture of the Cambridge of the last half of 
the seventeenth century. The original log- 
houses were gradually replaced by substantial 
two-story dwellings. These houses were closely 
grouped together in the settled part of the town, 
and eastward and northward stretched the 
cultivated lands, diversified by the marshes 
and gently sloping hills. Most of the houses 
were reasonably commodious. The lower 
floor, as a rule, contained a hall, a living-room 
and a kitchen, and the upper story, four 
chambers. The furniture was mostly home- 
made, for it was almost impossible to import 
in the small sailing vessels of the time, any 
considerable amotmt of household furniture 
from England. Furniture, with the exception 
of beds and mattresses, is seldom mentioned 
as an asset in the wills of the period, showing 
that it must have been of small value. A good 
many families had silver heirlooms, which 
were transmitted from generation to genera- 
tion. Of musical instruments there is no trace 
whatever. 

The chief house of the town was still that 
originally built by Governor Dvidley, the house 



that Winthrop censured because its interior 
panelling and general finish were "too fine for 
the wilderness." It stood at what is now the 
comer of Dunster and South Streets, on the 
first rise of land above the salt marshes that 
bordered the river. When Dudley removed to 
Ipswich his Cambridge estate was purchased 
by Roger Harlakcnden who was the chief 
layman of Cambridge until his untimely death 
in 1638, at the age of twenty-seven. He was 
selectman, an assistant, and lieutenant- 
colonel of the Middlesex regiment. His 
children went back to England with their 
stepfather in KiH). Harlakenden's widow 
married Herbert Pelham, who came to 
Cambridge a widower in 1638. He was an 
English coimtry gentleman of good family 
and substantial means who at once took a 
place of leadership in the community and 
Colony. He took up his residence in the 
Dudley-Harlakenden house, and soon became 
the largest landed proprietor in Cambridge. 
He cleared and developed large farms south 
of the river, on the Harlakenden property in 
Lexington and Bedford, and on the rising 
groimd, long known as Pelham's Island, in 
what is now the most thickly-settled part of 
Cambridgeport. He was successively select- 
man, assistant and commissioner of the United 
Colonies, and he was the first treasurer of 
Harvard College. In 1649 he returned to 
England with his family, became a meniVjcr of 
Parliament, and there rendered frequent and 
important services to Massachusetts and the 
sister colonies. Mr. Pelham not only owned 
the Dudley homestead, but also the house 
originally built by Simon Bradstreet, which 
stood on the east side of Boylston Street, near 
Harvard Square. 

The next most important houses in the 
village were those originall)' built by Govemor 
Haynes and by Thomas Hooker. These were 
occupied after their departure respectively by 
President Dunster of the College, and by the 
minister, Thomas Shepard, who married 
Hooker's daughter. The Haynes-Dunster 
house stood on the west side of the market- 
place, which is now Winthrop Square, and the 
Hooker-Shcpard house stood next the college 
building about where Boylston Hall now 
stands in the College Yard. 



THE COM iM UNITY 



49 



Joseph Cooke, who ran the ferry at the foot 
of Dtinster Street, had an estate of some five 
acres on the eastern side of Ilolyoke Street 
below Mt. Auburn Street, and was a large 
land owner in other parts of the town. He 
was for many years selectman, town clerk for 
five years and representative for six years. 
He returned to England in 1()58, but his 
descendants are numerous in the community. 
It is noticeable that Mr. Cooke and his brother, 
(jcorge Cooke, who came over with Thomas 
Shepard and Roger Harlakendcn in 1 ()35, were, 
in the list of the ship's company, called "ser- 
vants to Mr. Harlakenden," but this was 
evidently a disguise to get them safely out 
of England. Both the brothers were among 
the foremost of the Cambridge settlers, and 
were evidently men of comparative wealth. 
George Cooke besides being selectman, deputy, 
speaker of the house and commissioner of the 
United Colonies, was conspicuous in military 
affairs. He was the first captain of the 
Cambridge train-band, and later captain of 
the artillery. He lived at the other end of 
the village from his brother Joseph, his estate 
extending along the northern side of what is 
now Eliot Street. In 1645, George Cooke 
returned to England, became a colonel in 
Cromwell's army, and was killed in battle in 
Ireland, in 1652. 

Another serviceable citizen was Edward 
Gofle, who also came over with Shepard and 
Harlakenden and broke out of the wilderness 
a large farm at the extreme eastern edge of 
the village. His land stretched from Shepard's 
house, next the college biiilding, eastward to 
Dana Hill, and he built his dwelling about at 
the comer of Quincy and Harvard Streets. 
He was a magistrate, a representative, for 
sixteen years a selectman, and he apparently 
paid a larger tax than any Cambridge man 
except Mr. Pelham. His descendants were 
prominent in town affairs tmtil the revohition. 

Among the other Cambridge families of the 
earliest generation, two are deserving of special 
remembrance. Edmimd Angier was one of 
the earliest settlers, and built, in Ki.'JCi, a dwell- 
ing opposite the meeting-house, or on the 
northwest comer of Dtmster and Mt. Auburn 
Streets. He soon began to keep what we 
should now call a general or variety store, on 



the corner diagonally across from the home- 
stead. Dunster Street, with the ferry at its 
foot, was thus the main street of the village. 
When the visitor landed at the ferry and 
climbed the sloping bank of the river he came 
first to the mansion of Mr. Pelham, the only 
citizen whose name always had "Esquire" 
written after it. Then on the left, he came to 
Deacon Chesholm's inn, and then to the 
meeting-house, with Angier's store facing it 
across Dunster Street, and Angier's house 
across Mt. Auburn Street, or as it was then 
called. Spring Street. There were three dwell- 
ings on the eastern side between the Angier 
house and the "Printery," at the corner of 
Dunster Street and Harvard Square. Turn- 
ing there a little to the right, the visitor would 
come to the college building and the house 
of Rev. Thomas Shepard. 

The mention of the "Printery" recalls the 
chief Cambridge industry of the earlier days 
and its fortunes. Stephen Day, his son 
Matthew Day, and his wife's son by a former 
marriage, William Boardman, came over 
together and set up the press on the Dunster 
Street comer. The younger Day did the 
printing, and after his death, in 1649, Samuel 
Green came to run the press and had charge 
of it for nearly fifty years. He lived in a house 
across Dunster Street from the press, and 
about where Holyoke House now stands. 
Meanwhile William Boardman inherited the 
estate where the press was located, and later 
added to it the lot adjoining it on the west, so 
that he owned the whole frontage of Harvard 
Square between Dunster and Boylston Streets. 
Mr. Boardman was early made steward of 
Harvard College and retained that office till 
his death in IfiSo. He was succeeded succes- 
sively by his sons Andrew and Aaron, and by 
his grandson and great grandson, who bore 
the name of Andrew, making four generations 
of one family who thus served the College for 
a period covering a whole century. The second 
Andrew kept a store on Harvard Square, was 
for thirty-one years town clerk, for forty-six 
years town treasurer, and for eighteen years 
selectman. The third Andrew did not long 
retain the stewardship of the College, but he 
succeeded his father as town clerk, an office 
he held for thirtv-nine vears, and as town treas- 



50 



A HISTORY' OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



urer, where he served twenty-three years. He 
was for twenty-two years the town's repre- 
sentative in the General Court, and for seven- 
teen years a judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas. 

If it is not difficult to reconstruct in imagina- 
tion the outward appearance of Cambridge 
in the colonial period, neither is it hard to 
imagine the daily habit of the people. It 
was a life of steady hard work and of no little 
variety of employment. In the first place 
all the people worked at breaking and culti- 
vating the land. The soil was not rich, but 
it was productive. The settler found that his 
patch of land would produce Indian com 
year after year in undiminished qtiantities. 
A patch of three acres worked chiefly with 
the hoe and manured with the small fish that 
abounded in the streams and creeks, would 
yield enough for the .yearly maintenance of a 
family. The Indian com was both hardy and 
nutritious and the planters soon reconciled 
themselves to it as a substitute for wheat, to 
which the soil and temperature were less pro- 
pitious. The native grasses were coarse, but 
it took only a few seasons to cover the open 
lands with a growth of hay from imported 
seed. Barley, rye, oats and pease were suc- 
cessfully cultivated, and most of the garden 
fruits and vegetables common in the mother 
countr}-. Squashes, pumpkins and beans were 
indigenous to the soil. The apple, the pear, 
the cherry, the plum, and the quince were 
found to take kindly to their new home. 
Poultry and swine could be fed at little cost, 
and so multiplied in great abundance, and as 
pasturage was extended and improved, goats 
in the first place, and then sheep, horses and 
cattle became numerous. Between 1635 and 
1040 cattle breeding was the most lucrative 
form of trade in Massachusetts, with the single 
exception of fishing. The increase of tillage 
caused a regular demand for oxen, and there 
was a brisk export trade in cattle with the 
West Indies. Sheep did not do so well, and 
the General Court, in 1654, found it necessary 
to forbid the exportation of sheep and the 
killing of lambs. There was abundant pastur- 
age, and horse-breeding was profitable. It 
is impossible to discover just when wheel 
carriages began to be used, but the condition 



of the roads was so rotigh that during the first 
quarter century it is probable that all communi- 
cation was either by boat or on horseback. 

The townspeople, as in most pioneer com- 
mtmities, were obliged to practice all trades. 
A citizen of Cambridge lived mainlj- upon the 
product of his land, but his house and most of 
his belongings were the work of his own hand. 
He was farmer, carpenter, blacksmith, shoe- 
maker and trader, all in one. Cambridge was 
too far from the sea to have any large part in 
the chief industry of the Colony, — fishing, — 
but the bank of the river was a convenient 
place for ship-building, and several small 
vessels, "shallops" and "ketches," were early 
constructed and laimched at the movith of the 
creek. 

There was very little currency in the Colony, 
and an early enactment of the General Court 
provided that com should be legal tender. 
Taxes were received in com, rated at six shil- 
lings a bushel. A certain amount of trade 
with the Indians gave a fictitious value to 
wampum and this was legal tender in Massa- 
chusetts for many years, up to the value of 
ten pounds. In 1652, Massachusetts estab- 
lished a mint of its own and coined silver in 
shilling, six pence and three pence pieces. 

Manufactures of necessary articles were 
early undertaken with some success. The 
spinning and knitting of thread and yam by 
the women at their homes was followed by the 
weaving of woolen and cotton fabrics, intro- 
duced by a few families who came from York- 
shire and built tip a town at Rowley, adjoining 
Ipswich. The great demand for salt was 
promptly and profitably met, so easy was the 
process of obtaining it from sea-water. From 
the beginning of the settlements there was 
ample employment and good pay for the brick- 
maker, the mason, the carpenter, the tanner, 
the currier, the cordwainer, the sawj^er and 
the smith. 

The woods were a source of wealth. Boards, 
clapboards, shingles and staves and hoops for 
barrels, cost nothing but labor, and com- 
manded a ready sale. The pine forests yielded 
turpentine, pitch and tar. Furs obtained 
from the Indians by barter for provisions and 
for articles of European manufacture, were 
yet another resource for the export trade. 



THE COMMUNITY 



51 



In matters of dress the statute book shows 
that the magistrates tried to make the outward 
man conform to the serious purpose of the 
community. Seeking first the kingdom of 
God, they took to heart the injunction not 
to have much concern for the body what it 
should put on. They passed laws forbidding 
extremes of fashion and undue luxury in dress. 
They remonstrated against the superfluities 
which tended "to little use or benefit, but to 
the nourishment of pride and exhausting of 
men's estate and also of evil example to others." 
The dress of the majority of the people must 
needs have been plain, for the supply of home- 
spun woollen cloth and "linen fustian dimities" 
was not abundant, and we read that use was 
commonly made of "cordovan, deer, seal and 
moose skins." 

The necessity for keeping the flocks of sheep 
for wool, and of preserving cattle for draught 
and for milk, restricted the use of meat, 
and there is no record of a butcher's shop in 
Cambridge until well along in the century. 
Game and fish at first supplied, to a consider- 
able extent, the want of animal food, and later 
chickens and pigs multiplied. In the earliest 
time, wheaten bread was not so uncommon 
as it afterwards became; but various prepara- 
tions of Indian com soon came into use. 
Brown bread, a mixture of two parts of the 
meal of this grain with one part of rye, long 
continued to be the bread of the great body 
of the people. Hasty pudding, consisting of 
the boiled meal of this grain or of rye, and 
eaten with molasses and milk, was a common 
article of diet. Succotash, composed of beans 
boiled with Indian com in milk, was a dish 
adopted from the Indians, as were other prepa- 
rations of com, named samp and hominy. 
Indian com meal, boiled or baked, and sweet- 
ened with molasses, as soon as molasses began 
to come from the West Indies, was Indian 
pudding in its primitive condition. The dish 
called baked beans commemorates the time 
when it was worth while to make the most of 
the commonest vegetable, by flavoring it with 
the flesh of the commonest animal. For 
considerably more than a century the people 
of Cambridge, ignorant of tea and cofltee, lived 
chiefly on boiled Indian meal and milk, or on 
porridge or broth, made of pease or beans, and 



seasoned by being boiled with salted beef or 
pork. The regular dinner on Saturdays (not 
on Friday, which would have been Popish) 
was salt codfish. Beer, which was brewed 
in the household, was accounted scarcely less 
than a necessary of life, and the orchards soon 
yielded an ample provision of cider. 

The interest of the New England people in 
education was a marked characteristic from 
the earliest days. Schools were at once set 
up in all the considerable towns, and in 1647, 
the law of Massachusetts required that a school 
should be supported in every town having 
fifty householders, and that a grammar school 
should be established where a boy could be 
fitted for Harvard College in every place where 
the householders numbered one hundred. At 
Cambridge the school was kept by Mr. Elijah 
Corlet. Our first notice of it is contained in 
the tract already quoted, " New England's 
First Fmits," printed in England in 1643. 
There we read after the description of the 
College, that there is "by the side of the CoUedge 
a faire Grammar Schoole, for the training up 
of young scholars, and fitting of them for 
Academical Learning, that still as they are 
judged ripe, they may be received into the 
CoUedge. Master Corlet is the Mr. who has 
very well approved himselfe for his abilities, 
dexterity and painfulnesse in teaching." The 
school-house stood on a lot opposite the college 
building, and on the westerly side of Holyoke 
Street. It was apparently built not by the 
town, but by the public spirit of President 
Dunster and Mr. Edward Goffe. This house 
lasted until 1669, when it was taken down 
and the foundation stones used for the cellar 
of the parsonage. The new school-house on 
the same lot served for thirty j-ears more. 
Mr. Corlet, in spite of many difficulties and 
privations, persevered in his work for more 
than half a century until his death in 167S. 

We have seen that the ministers exercised 
extraordinary influence in the Massachusetts 
communities. They were the leaders not only 
in the religious life of the community, but 
often in secular affairs as well. Many of them 
possessed some medical knowledge, and as 
there were but few trained physicians in the 
colonies, this was employed for the common 
good. There were practically no professional 



52 



A HISTURV UF CxVMBRlDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



lawyers in Massachusetts, and the ministers 
were often consulted by the magistrates about 
the framing of the laws and the adjustment 
of disputes. They came also naturally to 
practically control the organization and man- 
agement of the schools of every grade. Yet 
the deference paid to them was self-respecting. 
The laymen understood their rights, and their 
constant participation in the proceedings of 
the town and church accustomed them to the 
exercise of an independent judgment. No 
charge is more baseless than that which repre- 
sents early New England as "priest-ridden." 
On the contrary, a jealous public sentiment 
expressly excluded the ministers from political 
office, and kept the ultimate control both of 
the churches and of the state in the hands of 
the General Court. It was the General Court, 
and not the ministers, that banished Roger 
Williams and Anne Hutchinson. It was the 
General Court, a body of laymen, that called 
the Cambridge Synod that gave definite written 
form to the church polity of New England. 

The Cambridge ministers continued to be 
prominent in the Colony. Mr. Shepard died 
in August, 1()49, when he was but fort}'-three 
years old. Almost a year passed between his 
death and the settlement of his successor. 
In the meantime, the town decided to build a 
new meeting-house. The old one had stood for 
less than twenty years, but it must have been 
hurriedly and poorly constructed, for alread}' 
it was falling into decay ; besides, it had never 
been quite large enough for the congregation. 
Accordingly, five of the leading citizens, in- 
cluding Edward Goffe and Thomas Danforth, 
were appointed in March, 165U, a committee 
to build a new house, and a location was selected 
on what was known as the Watch House Hill, 
which was a slight elevation on what is now 
the southwest comer of the college yard, where 
Dane Hall stands. The next year Jonathan 
Mitchell was ordained the second minister 
of the church. He was a graduate of the 
college in the class of 1647, and was, therefore, 
well known to the members of the community. 
He had begfun his preaching at Hartford, and 
was invited to settle there as Hooker's suc- 
cessor, but upon receiving the invitation from 
Cambridge he declined the call to Hartford 
and was ordained at Cambridge, August 21st, 



1650. For eighteen years he served the congre- 
gation and by the testimony of his contem- 
poraries was distinguished for learning and 
eloquence. Cotton Mather describes him as 
"the matchless Mitchell." Shortly after his 
coming to Cambridge he married Mrs. Shepard, 
the young widow of his predecessor, and went 
to live in the house which had sheltered V)oth 
Hooker and Shepard. 

The deplorable episode of President Dunster's 
heresy fell within tht; ministry of Mr. Mitchell. 
There is abundant testimony that President 
Dunster was faithful and judicious in the dis- 
charge of all his duties. He was held in high 
favor in the community. His scholarship 
was of the best and his neighbors treated him 
with marked reverence. His theological opin- 
ions appear, however, to have undergone a 
gradual change. He came to feel that the 
practice of the baptism of children was not 
in accordance with the Scriptures. Accord- 
ingly he failed to present for baptism a child 
born to him in KmA. The debates which arose 
over this stand have no interest for us today, 
but one cannot but admire the unflinching 
way in which Dtmster stood by his opinions. 
A conference between Dunster and nine of the 
leading ministers produced no result and a 
resolution of the General Court advising the 
overseers of the College not to employ any who 
have "manifested themselves unsotmd in 
faith" led to Dunster's resignation, which, 
after being once rejected, was finally accepted 
on October 2.5, 1654. Dunster continued to 
occupy the President's house until the next 
spring and then removed to Scituate where 
he died four years later. He was buried in the 
Cambridge graveyard. 

It required rare firmness and courage on the 
part of Mr. Mitchell when it became necessary 
for him as minister of the church to admonish 
his chief parishioner and the greatl3^-respected 
president of the college (from which he had 
recently graduated. It is also greatly to Mr. 
Mitchell's credit that he did this without losing 
President Dunster's friendship. Dunster made 
Mitchell one of the executors of his estate. 
It is a curious coincidence, if the suggestion of 
Dr. Palfrey, supported by Dr. Paige, the his- 
torian of Cambridge, is correct, and that the 
monument erected in honor of Dunster in 



THE COMMUNITY 



53 



the graveyard really covers the grave of 
Mitchell. 

The next heretic in the Cambridge church 
was more troublesome than the gentle Dimster. 
The court record shows that on the 19th of 
June, 1(55(5, Benanucl Bower was admonished 
for absenting himself from the ordinance of 
baptism. This Bower, or Bowers, had married 
a cousin of President Dtmster, and evidently 
shared Dtmster's belief about infant baptism. 
He lived on the Menotomy Road, and later 
moved into what is now Somerville, but his 
relations continued with the Cambridge church 
and commtmity. He became a (Quaker and 
was called to account almost every year and 
subjected to fine and imprisonment for the 
absenting of himself and family from public 
worship, and for maintaining the obnoxious 
principles of the Quaker fraternit)-. In spite 
of persecution he remained stalwart in his 
independency and repeatedly petitioned the 
Count)' Court and the General Co\irt for relief. 
He gave vent to his indignation at his treat- 
ment not only by repeated remonstrances, 
but also in doggerel verses, and it was his 
practice as soon as he was released from im- 
prisonment to interrupt the public worship 
of the Cambridge church and insist upon being 
permitted to describe his grievances. He was 
certainly a vigorous independent, and continued 
to be such until his death in 1()98. His wife 
seems to have been tolerated ^during her old 
age, for there is a record of the coiirt, dated 
December 2(5, 1(593, which declares that Mrs. 
Bowers "being a Quaker took no oath." It 
is also suggestive of growing tolerance in the 
commtmity that the three witnesses to Mr. 
Bowers' will were three Orthodox ministers. 

Shortly after Mr. Mitchell's death in 1(5(58, 
the town decided that the time had come to 
build a house for the minister at public ex- 
pense. The selectmen and deacons and three 
others were, therefore, appointed a committee 
to build "a convenient house for the entertain- 
ment of the minister that the Lord may j)lease 
to send us to make up the breach that an 
afflicting Providence hath made in this office." 
This new house, which was for many years 
the parsonage of the church, stood next to the 
house which the former ministers had occupied, 
that is, on the northerly side of Massachiisetts 



Avenue, a little east of where Boylston Hall 
now stands. 

For three years the pulpit had no regular 
(jccupant, but was supplied for the most part 
by the distinguished clergyman who had suc- 
ceeded Dunster in the presidency of the college. 
Charles Chauncy was inaugurated on November 
29, 1(551, and remained in office for seventeen 
years. He was a scholar of mtich renown. He 
had been successively professor of Hebrew and 
professor of Greek at the English Cambridge, 
and was profoundly learned in both classical 
and oriental languages. He had suffered much 
persecution in England, and, finally, deprived 
of his living, emigrated to Plymouth in the 
spring of 1 (>:{,S. Here he was heartily welcomed 
and employed as the associate minister of the 
Plymouth church. After three years there, 
he became minister of the church at Scituate 
and was there re-ordained to the ministry, 
indicating that his original Episcopal ordina- 
tion was, in his judgment, invalid. During 
his stay at Scituate the Revolution in England 
had been completed and the people of the 
English ])arish which he had formerly served, 
holding him in affectionate remembrance, 
invited him to return and minister to them. 
He was just on the point of embarking when 
he wa.s invited to accept the presidency of 
Harvard College. 

In his service at Cambridge he fully sustained 
the reputation which led to his choice. He 
continued to be an indefatigable student. He 
is spoken of as having " conveyed all the liberal 
arts" to his pupils, and we have no record of 
any associate teacher. He "moderated their 
disputations and other exercises" in person, 
wittily, as Cotton Mather sa\-s. He gave his 
instruction, for the most part, in Latin. The 
Hebrew Scriptures were still read in the hall 
every morning, and the Greek in the evening, 
followed by a learned exposition by the presi- 
dent, who on Sunday mornings extended it 
to nearly twice the normal length of a modern 
sermon. He was greatly prized as a preacher, 
and justly so: for, as Mather tells us, "he was 
an exceeding plain preacher." The discipline 
and management of the College went on very 
much as in Dimster's time. Nor does there 
seem to have been any abatement of interest 
in the College on the part of the commtmity. 



54 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



or any decline of the president's popularity 
and influence with his declining years. The 
last class that graduated under him was the 
largest since the foundation; and though it 
numbered but eleven, those eleven probably 
bore a greater ratio to the population of the 
Colony than all the graduates of our colleges 
for the present year will bear to the population 
of the State. 

Dr. Chauncy was succeeded in the presidency 
by Leonard Hoar, the first graduate of the 
College to assume this office. He had a brief 
and troubled experience, and was succeeded 
in 1C.75, by Urian Oakes, who was already the 
minister of the Cambridge church in succession 
to Mitchell. The pastorate of the church and 
the presidency of the college were thus united 
in one man. Mr. Oakes, after graduating at 
Harvard, had returned to England and was 
settled there, and the Cambridge church sent 
repeated invitations to him and waited three 
years for his coming. It is an evidence both 
of the imijortance of securing just the right 
minister and also of the comparative wealth 
of the community that the church was able 
to offer to Mr. Oakes a larger salary than most 
ministers of the time received, and to pay the 
entire cost of the transportation of his family 
from England. Like his predecessors, Mr. 
Oakes died when he was still comparatively 
a young man, his service terminating in IGSl. 
The next year, Nathaniel Gookin became the 
minister and served for ten years. In 1080 
the town reported one himdred and twenty-one 
families living within its botmdaries, and a 
total of one hundred and sixty -nine citizens. 
This probably meant a total population of 
between six hundred and eight hundred. 

The two leading laymen of Cambridge during 
the last half of the seventeenth century were 
Thomas Danforth and Daniel Gookin. Daniel 
Gookin apparently came to Cambridge about 
16-47, and lived at first on the easterly side of 
Holyoke Street between Harvard and Mt. 
Auburn Streets. Later he built the mansion, 
afterwards familiar as the Winthrop estate, 
on the southerly side of Arrow Street, which is 
still standing. He was at once prominent in 
the military service and was elected captain 
of the Cambridge train-band as early as 1652. 
In 1676 he became major of the Middlesex 



regiment and was very active throughout the 
troubles of King Philip's War. In 1681, he 
was appointed major-general of all the military 
affairs of the Colony, and was the last who held 
that office under the old charter. For twelve 
years he was a selectman of Cambridge, 
repeatedly a representative in the General 
Court, and for thirty-three years an assistant. 
He was twice employed upon public service 
in England and was trusted by Oliver Cromwell 
as a confidential agent. It was upon his return 
from his last visit to England that he had for 
his fellow-passengers the two regicides, Goff'e 
and Whalley, and they accompanied him to 
Cambridge. General Gookin stood side by 
side with Judge Danforth in the fight for the 
Massachusetts charter, and he is also to be 
remembered not only as the military com- 
mander who fought the hostile Indians in 
King Philip's War, but also as the dauntless 
friend of the so-called "praying Indians." 
He was John Eliot's chief helper, and for 
many years general superintendent of Indian 
affairs. 

The whole history of the relation of the 
Cambridge people with the Indians is a 
creditable one. There were very few Indians 
in the neighborhood when the first settlers 
arrived. These were under the general control 
of the widow of the Chief Nanepashemet. 
She was known as the Squaw-sachem. The 
Cambridge and Watertown territory was 
purchased of this Squaw-sachem and Cambridge 
further agreed "to give the Squaw-sachem a 
coate every winter while she liveth." It was 
within the botmds of Cambridge that John 
Eliot began his famous mission among the 
Indians. He labored long and hard to acquire 
a competent knowledge of the Indian dialects, 
and began his difficult labors among them on 
October 28, 1646, when he gathered some 
wandering Indians at the wigwam of Waban 
on the Nonantum hillside south of the 
river, in what is now the cit}' of Ne^\'ton. 
Thomas Shepard, the Cambridge minister, 
was one of Eliot's most active assistants in 
his missionary' labors. In Shepard's tract 
entitled "The Clear Sunlight of the Gospel 
breaking forth upon the Indians in New Eng- 
land," which was printed in London in 1648, 
he said, "as soon as ever the fierceness of the 



THE COMMUNITY 



55 



winter was past, March o, 1(JI7, I went out 
to Nonantum to the IncHan lecture where Mr. 
Wilson, Mr. Allen of Uedham, Mr. Dunstcr, 
besides many others were present." Eliot's 
great work, "The Translation of the Bible 
into the Indian Tongue," was the most im- 
portant book issued from the Cambridge 
"Printery." 

Provision was early made by the president 
and fellows of Harvard College for the educa- 
tion of the Indian youth. A modest building, 
known as the Indian College, was built to the 
north of the original college liuilding, and 
several students were enrolled. Only one 
Indian name is, however, carried on the list 
of graduates of the College. In the list of the 
class of 1G()5, we read the name of "Caleb 
Cheeshahteaumuck, Indus." 

In King Philip's War, the converted Indians, 
who had been gathered by Eliot into a village 
at Natick and other places, naturally fell inider 
suspicion. They were removed to a safer 
residence on one of the islands in Boston 
Harbor. General Gookin fell for a time into 
disfavor in the Colony because of his earnest 
and disinterested efforts to protect these un- 
fortunate Indians. He even failed of election 
in 1(170 as one of the Assistants, but next year 
the tide of feeling changed in his favor and he 
was re-instated in his former honors. 

Gookin's connection with the coming of the 
regicides to Cambridge is part of a romantic 
story. Edmund Whalley had been a distin- 
guished soldier in Cromwell's anny, one of 
the major-generals, and a member of Parlia- 
ment. William Goffe was his son-in-law, also 
a member of Parliament, and a major-general 
of the Parliamentary anny. Both of them 
were members of the court which condemned 
Charles I to death. When Charles II entered 
London in May, 1060, these two men fled from 
the vengeance which they knew was in store 
for them if they remained in England. They 
crossed the Atlantic with Daniel Gookin, and 
came with him to his house in Cambridge. 
Thejr were proscribed fugitives, but they were 
welcomed to Cambridge with open and hearty 
hospitality. The high rank which they had 
sustained in the Puritan party in England, 
together with the dignity of their own manners, 
secured for them general respect. They went 



abroad freely, and were made welcome in the 
Cambridge meeting-house, as well as in the 
homes of the people. They remained in 
Cambridge until the 21st of February, Kidl, 
when they privately went on their way to 
New Haven where they were kindly received. 
The pursuit of them later grew hot, and they 
went into retirement and concealment in the 
minister's house at Hadley. This friendly 
minister was John Russell, a Cambridge man 
and a Harvard graduate. In spite of the 
hospitable reception which the regicides in 
New England received, it should be remembered 
that all the New England colonies carefully 
abstained from any public approval or dis- 
approval of events in the home country. The 
New Englanders doubtless approved the execu- 
tion of Charles I, but they never gave formal 
expression to that approval. When the Puri- 
tan Parliament came into power in England, 
Massachusetts never formally admitted its 
authority, and even when Oliver Cromwell 
became protector, Massachusetts still remained 
silent. When Charles II was restored, no 
proclamation of that event was made in Boston 
for more than a year. These facts indicate 
the settled policy of the fotmdcrs of New 
England to lay the foundations of what was 
practically an independent state. 

Thomas Danforth was the most useful and 
prominent citizen of Cambridge in the second 
generation. He was the son of Nicholas Dan- 
forth who came to Cambridge as early as 1G35 
and built a house about where Massachusetts 
Avenue now nms. Beck Hall and the Bap- 
tist church now stand on the land that was 
part of the Danforth farm. This Nicholas 
Danforth was evidently a good citizen, for he 
was immediately elected a selectman and 
served for two years as a deputy of the General 
Court, and died in 1()3S. His son Thomas 
inherited the homestead, but sold it in 1(342, 
and bought a house originally built by Rev. 
John Phillips, on the north side of Kirkland 
Street, near Oxford Street. His estate ulti- 
mately covered the whole territory, from the 
Somerville and Charlestown line to where the 
college library now stands. It included, that 
is, all the northeasterly part of the college 
yard and the land bordering on Oxford Street 
for its entire length. This property was after- 



56 



A HISTORY UP CAIMBRIDGE, MASSAC^HUSIiTTS 



wards well known as the Foxcroft estate. Mr. 
Danforth throughout his long life was a most 
energetic citizen of the town and of the Colony. 
He was for twenty-seven years a selectman of 
Cambridge, twenty-four years town clerk, 
twenty years 
a magistrate 
and assistant, 
and for nine 
years deputy- 
governor of the 
Colony. Except 
for the prolonged 
life of the ven- 
erable governor. 
Simon Brad- 
street, he would 
certainly, have 
been governor. 
Later Mr. Dan- 
forth was a mem- 
ber of the Pro- 
vincial CoiuK'il 
and judge of the 
Supreme Court . 
He was one of 
the members of 
the governing 
board of the 
United Colonies 
from 1662 to 
1678, and he was 
for nineteen 
years the treas- 
urer at Har- 
vard College. 
This extraordi- 
nary record of 
public service 
indicates the 

confidence of the community and attests the 
wisdom and integrity with which he despatched 
these varied public functions. He was prob- 
ably the most active citizen of Massachusetts 
during the last half of the century, and he was 




28 



HONOURABLE SAMUEL SEWALL 

Chief Justice of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Bom in England. March 
16.'i2. Came to New England in 1661. Member of the Council under the 
Provincial charter. 1692-1 72.S. One of the Assistants under the Colonial charter, 
and ex officio a Judge of the Supreme Court. Appointed JudRe of Superior Court 
in 1692. and Chief Justice in 1718. Chosen in 1699 one of the Commissioners of 
the Society in England for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England. Some- 
time Resident Fellow, afterwards one of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College. 



the leader of the patriot party which strove to 
retain the original charter of Massachusetts. 

The attacks upon the Massachusetts charter 
had been not infrequent from the earliest days. 
After the restoration of the Stuarts, there was 

constant effort 
to deprive the 
New England 
Colonics of their 
liberties. In 
1678 the Crown 
lawyers gave a 
legal o])inion 
that the Charter 
of Massachu- 
setts had been 
justly forfeited 
Ijy the offences 
committed b y 
the colonial 
government 
under it. The 
authorities of 
the colonies, 
under the leader- 
ship of Thomas 
Danforth, of 
Cambridge, and 
Increase Mather, 
of Boston, did 
everything in 
their power, by 
petition and re- 
monstrance, to 
ward oft' the 
catastrophe, but 
in 1684 the 
Charter was 
finally declared 
to be null and 
void, and soon after, a royal governor arrived to 
take over the control of what was no longer the 
Colony, but now the royal Province of Massachu- 
setts Bay. With the loss of the Charter ends the 
colonial perioti of New England history. 



VII 



THE VILLAGE 



AFTER the withdrawal of the Massa- 
chusetts charter a change came over 
the life of the community. The new 
generation lacked something of the heroic 
impulses of the founders. The proportion 
of educated men and of natural leaders was 
not so high as in the first generation. Life 
was easier than in the colonial period, but it 
was more material. The village of Cambridge 
grew more comfortable to live in, and the 
houses were better built and better furnished. 
The prosperity of the community steadily 
increased, but the physical changes were few; 
the population remained nearly stationary 
for more than a hundred' years, and plain 
living and steady toil were still the lot of the 
inhabitants. More and more the woods were 
cut off and the pasture land was broken by the 
plow, but the wildness of the region outside 
of the village itself may be judged by the fact 
that the town records show rewards paid for 
the killing of wild animals within the limits of 
the town almost dow^n to the Revolution. In 
the one year 1690 there is a record of tifty-two 
wolves killed in Cambridge and six years later 
rewards were paid for the killing of seventy- 
two wolves. A bear was shot in what is now 
East Cambridge, as late as 1754. 

The story of the first half of the eighteenth 
century, though it abounds in political and 
industrial interest, is still in its central elements 
a continued chapter of religious history. Its 
hopes and heroisms were still those of the 
religious life; its controversies and dissensions 
were still those of the theologians. Life was 
still measured in terms of moral rectitude and 
the subtle temptations of luxury and ease 
were far in the distance. The College and 
the Meeting-house remained the centers of 
Cambridge interest. Harvard College was 
founded for the specific purpose of training 
ministers, or, as the first appeal declared, "that 
the Commonwealth may be furnished with 
knowing and understanding men, and the 



churches with an able ministry." In the first 
list of college regulations — called, as now seems 
curious, "the liberties" of the College, — the 
first rides are these; " Every scholar shall con- 
sider the main end of his life and study to 
know God and Jesus Christ. Every one shall 
so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures 
twice a day, that they be ready to give an 
account of their proficiency. And all sophis- 
tcrs and bachelors shall publicly repeat sermons 
in the hall whenever they are called forth." 
The institution was founded by men in whom 
the sense of God was the controlling impulse, 
and to whom his glory was the end of education, 
and when the families of the Colony brought 
out of their poverty their offerings to the Col- 
lege, — the one of five shillings, and the other of 
a few sheep, and the other the fourth part of a 
bushel of com, or "something equivalent 
thereto," — it was not as an oftering to culture, 
but as an offering to religion. 

For more than two hundred years, in its 
discipline and courses of study, the College 
followed mainly the lines traced by its founders. 
Its influence did more than any other, perhaps 
moi-e than all others, to make New England 
what it is. During the one himdred and forty 
years preceding the War of Independence it 
supplied the schools of the greater part of New 
England with teachers. What was even more 
important, it sent to ever>' parish in Massa- 
chusetts one man, — the minister, — with a 
certain amount of scholarship, a belief in 
culture, and a considerable collection of books, 
by no means wholly theological. "Simple 
and godly men were they," said Mr. Lowell 
in his oration at the two hundred and fiftieth 
anniversary of the College, "receiving much, 
sometimes all, of their scanty salary in kind, 
and eking it out by the drudgery of a cross- 
grained farm where the soil seems all back- 
bone. They contrived to save enough to send 
their sons in turn through college, to portion 
their daughters, — decently trained in English 



58 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



literature of the more serious kind, and perfect 
in the duties of household and dairy, — and 
make modest provision for their widows, if they 
should leave any. With all this, they gave 
their two sermons every Sunday of the year, 
and of a measure that would seem ruinously 
liberal to these less stalwart days, when scarce 
ten parsons together could lift the stones of 
Diomed which they hurled at Satan with the 
easy precision of lifelong practice. Their one 
great holiday was the College Commencement, 
which they punctually attended. They shared 
the many toils and the rare festivals, the joys 
and the sorrows of their townsmen as bone of 
their bone and flesh of their flesh, for all were 
of one blood and of one faith. They dwelt on 
the same brotherly level with them as men, yet 
apart from and above them by their sacred 
office. Preaching the most terrible doctrines, 
as most of them did, they were humane and 
cheerful men, and when they came down from 
the pulpit seemed to have been merely twisting 
their 'cast-iron logic' of despair, as Coleridge 
said of Donne, 'into true-love-knots.' Men 
of authority, wise in counsel, independent 
(for their settlement was a life-tenure), they 
were living lessons of i)iety, industry, frugality, 
temperance, and, with the magistrates, were 
a recognized aristocracy. Surely, never was 
an aristocracy so simple, so harmless, so ex- 
emplary, and so fit to rule." 

The original college building having fallen 
to pieces, a new Harvard Hall was built in 
1682 on the site which is now occupied by the 
building of the same name. That was the 
first year of the brief presidency of John Rogers. 
The experience of Mr. Rogers is a good illus- 
tration of the necessary frugality of the 
teachers and students of Harvard in the 
seventeenth century. It appears that young 
Rogers, remaining at the College as a resident 
graduate, had driven from the farm of his 
father — the minister of Ipswich — a cow, to 
serve by barter for the payment of his charges. 
The bursar's record debits him with two shil- 
lings for the pasturage of this cow before her 
appraisal for sale. It must have been a 
question whether the young man or the College 
should be at the expense of getting the animal 
into condition for the hungry students. Those 
years of severe training and meager nourish- 



ment must have been alike for mind and body 
of a highly educational character. It is no 
wonder that such of the Indian pupils as did 
not take to the woods died of consumption, or 
that the New England boys who weathered 
these experiences left their mark as men. 

The record of a visit made to the College 
in July, 1080, by two wandering Dutchmen 
from Friesland gives another curious sidelight 
upon conditions. Jasper Dankers and Peter 
Sltiyter, who were making a tour of the Ameri- 
can colonies, made the following record in 
their diary for the date 

"July 9th (1680), Tuesday.— We started 
out to go to Cambridge, lying to the N.E. of 
Boston, in order to see their college and 
printing-othce. We left abt. six o'k in the 
morning, and were set across the river at 
Charlestown. . . . We reached Cambridge 
abt. 8 o'k. It is not a large village, and the 
houses stand very much apart. The college 
building is the most conspicuous among them. 
We went to it expecting to see something 
curious, as it is the only college or would-be 
academy of the Protestants in all America; 
but we found ourselves mistaken. In ap- 
proaching the house, we neither heard nor 
saw anything mentionable; but going to the 
other side of the building we heard noise enough 
in an tipper room to lead my comrade to sup- 
pose they were engaged in disputation. We 
entered and went upstairs, where a person 
met us and requested us to walk in, which 
we did. We found there eight or ten young 
fellows sitting around smoking tobacco, with 
the smoke of which the room was so full that 
you could hardly see; and the whole house 
smelt so strong of it, that when I was going 
upstairs I said, 'This is certainly a tavern.' 
We excused ourselves that we cotdd speak 
English only a little, but understood Dutch 
or French, which they did not. However, 
we spake as well as we could. We inquired 
how many professors there were, and they 
replied, not one; that there was no money to 
support one. We asked how many students 
there were. They said at first thirty, and 
then came down to twenty. I afterwards 
understood there are probably not ten. They 
could hardly speak a word of Latin, so that my 
comrade could not converse with them. They 



THE VILLAGE 



59 



took us to the library, where there was nothing 
particular. We looked it over a little. They 
presented us with a glass of wine. This is all 
we ascertained there. The minister of the 
place goes there morning and evening to make 
prayer, and has charge over them. The 
students have tutors or masters. Our visit 
was soon over." 

A new era for the College began in 1(JS5 
with the presidency of Increase Mather, a 
leader of very definite convictions and remark- 
able personal influence. He was the first of 
the presidents of the College who was born 
ill America, and he was a striking illustration 
of the peciiliar characteristics of the New 
England Puritans. He combined uprightness 
with shrewdness, wide learning with practical 
administrative ability, and spiritual intensity 
with business sense. For a generation his 
was the leading influence in church and state, 
and his biography is the historj- of the province 
during his time. He did not come to live in 
Cambridge, but continued as minister of the 
North Church in Boston. In lOSS he accepted 
a mission to England as one of the agents of 
Massachusetts which took him awaj- from both 
church and college for several years. His 
masterful leadership was felt, however, in all 
the concerns of the College, while the spccilic 
work of instruction and government was carried 
on by the two tutors, John Leverett and 
William Brattle. The former of these later 
became president of the College and the latter 
was for twenty years minister of the Cambridge 
church. Mather was a student whose habit 
it was to spend sixteen hours a day in his 
librar}'. As a preacher he was clear, attractive, 
practical and forcible, — sometimes rising to 
" such a Tonitruous Cogency that the Heavens 
would be struck with an Awe, like what would 
be produced on the Fall of Thimderbolts;" 
as an administrator so popular, that even in 
his old age "the Churches would not permit 
an Ordination to be carried on without him, 
so long as he was able to Travel in a Coach 
unto them." With all his multifarious labors as 
pastor, president and agent of the Pro\dncc, he 
found time to publish books and pamphlets to 
the number of one hundred and sixty; and, at 
the end of all, he was honored "with a greater 
Funeral than had ever been seen for any Divine 



in these (and some Travelers at it said, in any 
other) parts of the World." 

New buildings began to appear. In 1700 
Governor William Stoughton built a residence 
for students. This stood at right angles with 
Harvard Hall at its eastern end, and a small 
regular quadrangle was formed when the 
Province in 1720 built Massachusetts Hall 
facing Harvard. Of these three buildings 
Massachusetts still stands, the oldest building 
in the College Yard. Harvard Hall was burnt 
in 1764, and its successor is the present build- 
ing which bears the founder's name. The first 
Stoughton Hall was taken down in 1780, and 
later the present Stoughton Hall was built 
and preserves the name and memor>' of the 
original donor. A house for the occupancy 
of the President, the present Wadsworth House, 
was built at the rear of the meeting-house in 
1720, and the gift of Madame Ilolden of London, 
and her children provided in 1714 for the chapel 
which now bears her name. 

While the resources of the College were thus 
slowly upbuilt by the liberality of friends both 
in America and in England, yet the narrowness 
of its concerns may be illustrated by the follow- 
ing extract from the Records of the Corpora- 
tion: "April 8, 1()95. Voted, that six leather 
chairs be provided for the use of the library 
and six more before the Commencement, in 
case the treasury will allow of it." Another 
extract from the Records gives a curious side- 
light upon college manners: "June 22, 1693. 
The Corporation having been informed that 
the custom taken up in the college, not used 
in any other universities, for the commencers 
to have plum cake is dishonorable to the 
college, not grateful to wise men, and charge- 
able to the parents of the commencers, do 
therefore put an end to that custom, and do 
hereby order that no commencer or other 
scholar shall have any such cakes in their 
studies or chambers and that if any scholar, 
shall ofTend therein the cake shall be taken from 
him and he shall, moreover, pay to the College 
twenty shillings for each such offense." It 
is hard to see why plum cake was so dangerous 
and disreputable, but the Records show that 
Commencement Day was increasingly becom- 
ing a time of public disorder. By the middle 
of the eighteenth century it had become neces- 



60 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 




sary for the Corporation at Commencement 
time to procure the attendance of justices of 
the peace, a police guard by day and a watch 
by night for several days together. 

The usefulness of the College in Mather's 
presidency is indicated by the record of the 
graduates of that period. One hundred and 
thirteen young 
men left the 
College to be- 
come the minis- 
ters of the New 
England chiu-ches. 
Seven became 
judges of the 
Suj^reme Court 
of Massachusetts: 
three, judges of 
the S u p r e m e 
Court of Con- 
necticut, and two, 
of the Supreme 
Court of New 
Hamjjshire. Two 
governors and 
two lieutenant- 
governors of 
provinces, one 
president of Vale 
and one president 
of Har\^ard are 
also among the 
graduates of this 
time. 

In 1701 the 
College c a m e 
under the charge 
of Rev. Samuel 
Willard, who ex- 
ercised the func- 
tion of jjrcsident 
under the title of 
vice-president. 
This was an- 

other way of getting around the requirement 
that the president should live in Cambridge. 
Dr. Willard was minister of the Old South 
Church in Boston and continued in his pas- 
torate while in charge of the College. He 
was succeeded in 1707 by John Leverett, who 
had been connected with the College as student, 



MASS.4CHUSETTS HALL 




HARVARD HALL 



tutor and member of the corporation for many 
years. 

In the valuable diary of Judge Sewall is 
found the following incturesque account of 
Levcrelt's inauguration : 

"Midweek, Jany. 14, 170,^. Went to Cam- 
bridge in Mr. Brigg's Coach, with Col. Town- 
send. Mr. Brom- 
tield, and Mr. 
Stoddard. Mr. 
Em. Hulehin.son 
went in his own 
Charel, taking 
Mr. Wadsworth 
with him. (^ajit. 
Belcher carried 
Mr. Secretary in 
his Calash. Mr. 
Pcmberton carried 
his^ Bror in his 
Slay over the Ice; 
Mr. Mico carried 
Mr. Treasurer 
Brattle. Mr. Col- 
man there: Majr 
Genl Winlhrop, 
Col. Elisha Hutch- 
inson, Mr. Foster, 
Mr. Sergeant, Dr. 
Mather, Mr. Cot- 
ton Mather, Mr. 
Bridge, Mr. Allen 
not there. The 
d a }■ was v e r y 
]Dleasant; Col. 
Philips, Mr. Rus- 
sel in his black 
cap. Col. Lynde 
met us from 
Charlestown: Mr. 
Bradstreet, An- 
gier, there, Mr. 
Woodbridge of 
Meadford. Mr. 
Neh. Hobart. In the Library the Govenour 
found a Meeting of the Overseers of the College 
according to the old Charter of 1650, and re- 
duced the Number [of the Corporation] to seven ; 
viz. Mr. Leverett, President, Mr. Neh. Hobart, 
Mr. Wm. Brattle, Mr. Ebenezer Pcmberton, 
Mr. Henry Flint, Mr. Jonathan Remington, 



THE VILLAGE 



61 



Fellows; Mr. Tho. Brattle, Treasurer. The 
Govr prepar'd a Latin Speech for Installment 
of the President. Then took the President 
by the hand and led him down into the Hall; 
The Rooks of the College Records, Charter 
Seal and Keys were laid upon a Table running 
parallel with that next the Entry. The Govr 
sat with his back against a Noble Fire; Mr. 
Russel on his Left Hand inermost, I on his 
Right Hand; President sat on the other side 
of the Table over against him. Mr. Neh. 
Hobart was called, and made an excellent 
Prayer; Then Joseph Sewall made a Latin 
Oration. Then the Govr read his Speech, 
and (as he told me) mov'd the Books in token 
of their delivery. Then President made a 
short Latin Speech, 
imparling the difii- 
culties discourag- 
ing, and yet that 
he did Accci)t; 
Govr spake further, 
assuring him of the 
Assistance of the 
Overseers. Then 
Mr. Edward Hol- 
yokc made a Latin 
Oration, standing 
where Joseph did 
at a Desk on the 
Table next the 
Entry at the inside 
of it, facing the 
Govr. Mr. Dan- 
forth of Dorchester 

pray'd. Mr. Paul Dudley read part of the 132 
ps. in Tate and Bradey's version, Windsor Tune, 
clos'd with the Hymn to the Trinity. Had a 
very good Diner ujjon 3 or 4 Tables: Mr. Wads- 
worth crav'd a Blessing, Mr. Angier return'd 
Thanks. Got home very well. Laus Deo." 

President Leverett was a man of science 
and a man of affairs. He had studied both 
law and theology. He had been Speaker of 
the House of Representatives, a member of 
the Council, a judge of probate, and finally 
a justice of the Supreme Court. He was one 
of the first persons in America to be chosen a 
member of the Royal Society in England. 
We have no means of judging directly of his 
attainments for he left no written works behind 




him, l)Ut we ma\' justly estimate Vjy the respect 
and affection which he inspired among his 
contemporaries. Mr. Pierce said of him; 
■'He had a great and generous sotil. His 
attainments were profound and extensive. 
He was well acipiainted with the learned 
languages, with the arts and sciences, with 
history, philosophy, law, divinity and politics. 
He possessed all the attractions which are 
conferred by the Graces, l)cing from the sphere 
in which he always moved a gentlemen as well 
as a scholar and a man of business." Under 
President Leverett the number of undergradu- 
ates rapidly increased, and in the twenty-two 
years of his presidency more young men were 
graduated at the College than in all the years 

before. Not quite 
half of these gradu- 
ates Ijecame min- 
isters. 

The chief event 
of this period was 
the establishment 
of two ]3rofcssor- 
ships, one in divin- 
ity and the other 
i n mathematics. 
These were the gift 
of Thomas Hollis, 
a London merchant 
who partly for the 
!ovc of civil and 
loligious liberty 
and i)artly through 
his acquaintance 
in London with Increase Mather, made the 
College the chief recipient of his bounty. 
Hollis's gifts began in 1719. His children 
inherited his interest and continued his bene- 
factions. It is a curious fact that Hollis was 
a Baptist, yet he was of so liberal a spirit as 
to found a theological professorship without 
any sectarian bias. Resides his own large 
donations Hollis frequently obtained for the 
College the assistance of his friends and family. 
In May, 1724, President Leverett suddenly 
died. It was an important and difficult matter 
to find a successor. It is not strange that 
Cotton Mather desired and expected the office 
and it is not surprising that he was passed 
over in the choice. Rev. Joseph Sewall was 



WADSWoRi'H HOUSE 



62 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



elected; chosen for his piety, Mr. Mather 
wrote. The Old South Church was unwilling 
to give him up, and he declined the office. 
The Rev. Benjamin Colman, of the Brattle 
Street Church, was then chosen, and the friends 
of the College sought to secure from the General 
Court a fitting salary for the president, and 
one which could be depended upon. The 
effort failed, and Mr. Colman declined the office. 
Several months passed before another election 
was made, when the Rev. Benjamin Wads- 
worth, of the First Church, was chosen. He 
declared his reluctance to accept the office, 
and his preference to remain with his church. 
His church finally consented that he should 
accept the call to the new position, if he judged 
it to be his duty. He consented to be made 
the president of the College, and the General 
Court granted him one hundred and fifty 
pounds "to enable him to enter upon and 
manage the great affair of that presidencj-, 
and a committee was appointed to look out 
a suitable house for the reception of the Presi- 
dent," and to inquire into the financial con- 
dition of the College. 

Wadsworth in his diary describes his in- 
auguration, which occurred on Commence- 
ment Day morning (July 7, 1725) in the 
meeting-house, as follows : 

"The Walk or Procession from ye college 
to ye meeting House was as had been usual, 
viz. The Bachelours of Art went first, two in 
a rank; and then ye Masters, all bare-headed; 
then I followed, walking single as President; 
next the Corporation and Tutors two in a rank, 
then the Honble Lieutenant Govemour Dum- 
mer & Council, next to them ye rest of ye 
Gentlemen. When in ye meeting House, I 
entered a Pew with ye Lieutenant Govemour 
and several of ye Council. The Revnd Mr. 
Benja. Colman went into ye Pulpit and began 
with prayer. Then ye Lieutenant Govemour 
Installed me in ye Presidents office (ye college 
Keys, Seal, Records lying on a Table in ye 
Pew) He said to me: 

" ' Revd Sir 

' ' ' You being duly elected & approved to be 
ye President of Harvard College, I do accord- 
ingly in ye name of ye overseers, invest you 
■with ye Government thereof, in ye same 
extent as any [of] your Precessors Presidents 



of Harvard College have been heretofore vested ; 
and delivered to you ye Keys, with these Books 
& Papers as Badges of your Authority, con- 
fiding that you will govern the Societies with 
Loyalty to our Sovereign Lord King George 
and obedient to his laws, and according to ye 
Statutes & Rules of ye said College.' 

"Hereupon, before I left the Pew I answered 
memoriter in English. I then entered the 
pulpit and having pronounced (without any 
Reading, or notes) my oration in Latin; I 
then called for ye Salutatory oration. Sir 
Brown made it. That being ended ye Batche- 
lours disputed on one question, and I then 
gave them their degrees at ye end of ye fore- 
noon, exercises: wch being finished, we re- 
turned to College as was usual." 

Dr. Wadswort hserved for twelve years, and 
then came Edward Holyoke, the minister of 
Marblehead. Dr. Holyoke had graduated 
in 1705, and had been tutor, librarian, and 
fellow in the college. His theological convic- 
tions were apparently more tolerant or at 
least less aggressive than those of some of his 
predecessors. To the inquiry of Governor 
Belcher, Mr. Holyoke's neighbor, the Rev. 
John Barnard, answered: "I think Mr. Hol- 
yoke as orthodox a Calvinist as any man; 
though I look upon him as too much of a 
gentleman, and of too catholic a temper, to 
cram his principles down another man's 
throat." "Then I believe he must be the 
man," replied the Governor. He was inaugu- 
rated September 2S, 1737. The General Court 
agreed to pay to the Society which had thus 
given up its pastor one hundred and forty 
pounds, "to encourage and facilitate the settle- 
ment of a minister there." With Holyoke 
served a group of remarkable men. His own 
term of service covered thirty-two years. 
Edward Wigglesworth, the first Hollis pro- 
fessor of divinity, served for forty-four years, 
a learned, sagacious and gentle scholar, whose 
literary taste was of the highest order and whose 
theolog)' was for his day extraordinarily 
liberal. John Winthrop was for forty-one 
years the HoIUb professor of mathematics, 
and sustained the highest repiitation for scien- 
tific attainment. He was also distinguished 
as a faithful public servant and maintained 
his family tradition of leadership in the com- 



THE VILLAGE 



63 



munity. Willi these gentlemen, as tvitor, 
Ilenry Flynt served for fifty-five years. It 
is noticeable that all four of these teachers 
acted together for seventeen years, and three 
of them for twenty-seven years. It was during 
this period that the men who afterwards 
reflected the greatest distinction \ipon the 
College were educated there. Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, 
Jonathan TrimibuU, Timothy Pickering, 
Joseph Warren, Artemas Ward, James Otis, 
Josiah Quincy and William Eustis were not 
inconspicuous in the patriot councils of their 
generation, and all of them were graduates 
of the institution which General Gage after- 
wards denounced as "the nest of sedition." 
Here the patriot leaders were nurtured; here 
they read of freedom and chivalry; here, in 
their impressible youth, they breathed to- 
gether the spirit of liberty which characterized 
the place and the time. 

The burning of Harvard Hall in the winter 
of 1764, with the consequent loss of the library 
and all the scientific apparatus, was an event 
of signal importance alike for the College and 
the community. We are fortunate in having 
a graphic contemporaneous account of this 
event. The following letter, referring to the 
completion and dedication of HoUis Hall and 
to the disastrous fire, was written by Margaret 
Holyoke, the daughter of President Ilolyoke. 
She was the wife of John Mascarene who had 
been for some time in England on business. 

"Cambridge, Jan. oOth, 17(J4. 
"To Mr. John Mascarene, London: 
"My Dearest, No. 74, my last to you, was by 
BioU, and Keating, the latter of which I can't 
yet learn whether it sailed or not, in those 
letters I answered all yours by Hatch, Hooper, 
Jarvis, and Dixey, and enclosed agreeable 
to your Desire Arms,' Invoice, Inventory, 
memorandums. Patterns, measures, &c. &c., 
all of which I hope will get safe to hand, for 
I think I would not have the pester of such 
another collection for a good deal. . . . 

"And now my Dear I shall begin with your 
matter of fact writing. First then our Friends 
are all well, our new College is Finished, and 
a Beautiful Building. The thirteenth of this 
month the General Court were invited to dine 



at College, at which time it was called Hollis 
Hall, in gratitude to the late and present worthy 
gentleman of that name. Since that time 
the Small Pox has been in Boston in 20 familys 
which has drove a third almost of the people 
out of Boston, and the General Court ad- 
journed to the College, the Council to the 
Library, and the house to the Hall where they 
have met for the dispatch of Public Business 
till last Wednesday, for on Tuesday night 
about 12 o'clock, in the severest snow storm 
I ever remember I heard the cry of Fire, one 
moment brought me to the window, when (I) 
saw the old Harvard College on fire, and it 
was with the utmost difficulty they savd the 
other Buildings. Stoughton was on fire an 
Hour, Massachusetts catchd in three places, 
and Hollis Hall is burnt much, at the South- 
west comer. There was nothing savd in old 
College, except a bed or two. The whole 
Library, except some Books lent out and Mr. 
HoUis's last donation, were demolished, the 
whole apparatus. Mr. Hancock who lodged 
out, on accoimt of the storm lost everything 
except the cloths he had on, this is a most 
terrible accident, this Library in which were 
so many valuable Books, ancient manuscripts, 
the Labour of the Learned, and the work of 
ages, in a few hours turned to ashes. Our 
College is now poorer than any on the Conti- 
nent — we are all real mourners on this occasion 
and I doubt not your attachment to alma 
mater, will make you feel sorrowful upon this 
conflagration. As to Father he had very near 
lost his life on the occasion, the snow was in 
drifts in many places four and five feet high, 
papa went thro it all with nothing more upon 
him than he sits in the house, the President's 
house was in great danger the wind was strong 
at N west the latter part of the time, and in 
short if Stoughton had gone all the houses in 
town to the Eastward of the College would 
have gone. I think I never saw so great a 
strife of elements before, it is supposed the 
Fire began in the Beam under the hearth of 
the Library, the Gov'r & a great number of 
the court assisted in extinguishing the Fire, 
it being vacation and no person in the college, 
the Fire was past stopping in Har\-ard before it 
was perceived. I hope the K— g will give 
something to repair the loss as he has never 



64 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



done anything for this College yet, and my 
Dear (tho I wovild not dictate to you) I believe 
if you was to try among your acquaintances 
for some donations by way of Books, or mathe- 
matical instalments, it will be very acceptable. 
Mr. Winthrop thinks that 3 Hd pd sterl'g 
would buy a compleat apparatus, and there 
are Books which are of no great act in a private 
gentleman's Library, which are ornamental 
and useful to an ancient and Public one. Cahill 
is generous, and loves show. Suppose you 
was to ask him — if he gives anything worth 
while, he will have the Public thanks of the 
College, and his name will be enrolled among 
the worthy Benefactors to this Seminary, and 
will live when the Buildings themselves are 
crumbled into Dust, but I need say no more, 
I know you will want no stimulus in this affair, 
our Country men at the Coffee house I doubt 
not if properly applied to, would subscribe 
something Hansome. Any wealthy lady that 
is minded to make her Fame immortal cant 
have a more favorable opportunity, thus my 
Dear, I have given you as good an account as 
I can of this terrible afair which would have 
been nothing hardly if the Library and appa- 
ratus had been saved. If I can get a paper 
wherein the account is ile sent it to you — and 
now partly to soften your grief and alleviate 
your sorrow, Ile tell you the proceeding of our 
worthy Court the next Day. The First vote 
that past was for rebuilding the College at the 
expence of the province Imediately, and two 
thousand lawful voted to begin with, and a 
sum to Mr. Hancock to repair his loss which 
with what of money Plate &c they have found 
in the Ruins, I hope will make his loss light, 
£10 lawful apiece to those scholars who lost 
their Furniture, and £40 lawful to the Buttler, 
all which is thot very handsome. 2 days 
after this they chose the Lieut Govr agent for 
this province to the Court of Great Britain, 
and it is said that he and his son Tom, and 
Couz Rogers, embarks in the spring, and I 
prophesy Forster will be made Judge Probate, 
if so Libera nos Domine. I had forgot when 
I told of the chrisning Hollis Hall that young 
Joe Taylor, the Capt Stone, a junior sophister, 
delivered a very handsome English oration 
before the whole Legislative Body, in Holden 
Chappel. Now to come home again my 



Brother lost their little Polly the eldest child 
about three weeks ago, and good Deacon 
Whipple departed this life last week, — and 
Johnny Appleton has got the Small Pox at 
Salem. But we hear he has it very lightly, 
it is not yet determined whether the Small 
Pox will spread, they take the utmost care to 
prevent it — Mr. Flucker and wife are at papas 
till it is over and there is a number of others 
in town on the same account so that our little 
Cambridge looks quite alive, tho at this dead 
season of the year, and vacation into the 
Bargain. . . . 

"I was much disappointed of making a visit 
to Boston. I intended to have spent a fort- 
night of this vacation with Mrs. Newall, who 
is continually urging me to come there. I 
thot to go to Capt. Handfields, and enquire 
about Adlam, who I think has not behavd 
like a man of Honor, tho he wers a Sword — 
Mr. Whitefield is on his journey here, from 
whom some Persons expect much — I have 
begd last Monday's paper of Mr. Flucker, which 
I shall enclose as this ship goes directly for 
London. You will find an inventory as near 
as they could remember, of the library and 
apparatus, to the end that those who are minded 
to give may know what — the College Bell is also 
gone. The vacation is lengthened out to I 
don't know what time. I am surprized you 
mention nothing of the national Ferment, 
which by an article in this paper, seems to be 
very great. I hope my Dear by this time your 
affair is Finished, and to your satisfaction, 
if not, I firmly believe it never will, without 
you give up part to get the rest. Procrasti- 
nation if the thief of time, year after year it 
steals, and leaves of life but little to enjoy. 
Alas how great a part of our short span since 
love and honor joined our Souls and Hands 
have wee been separated. Time, and distance, 
those foes to love upon earth, still keep between 
us and prevent our meetting, make haste old 
time and shake your heavy sands and bring 
the happy hour that makes us truly blest. 
Thou Ocean gently waft him over in safety 
to his native land and after all the toil and 
vexation of attending the great may he sit 
down in quiet and enjoy his Family and 
Friends. Here rest his little bark nor e'er 
by Poverty or dire Misfortime be thrown out 



THE VILLAGE 



65 



to sea again may he exhibit a bright example 
of every virtue, and be a pleasure to his Fri ends, 
and diffuse happiness as far as his Influence 
extends. . . . 

"I believe you are tired so I shall conclude, 
with love from all friends, and my regards to 
Mr. James Fireside, and am wath the truest 
affection and esteem ever yours, 

M. Mascarene." 

As this letter shows, the disaster proved a 
blessing in disguise. The loss roused the 
generous zeal of the friends of the College. The 
General Court restored the building — erecting 
the present Harvard Hall on the old site, and 
numerous benefactors endeavored to make 
good the loss of books and instruments. After 
Dr. Holyoke's death Rev. Samuel Locke of 
Sherborn had a brief and troubled presidency, 
and was succeeded in 1744 by Dr. Samuel 
Langdon of Portsmouth, N.H., who had been 
but six months in office when the storm of 
revolutionary war broke upon the community. 

The story of the Cambridge Church runs 
parallel to that of the College, and the threads 
are often interwoven. The fifth minister of 
the Church was William Brattle, who was born 
in Boston in 1()()2, and graduated at Harvard 
in KJSO. He served as tutor and Fellow of 
the College for many years and supplied the 
pulpit of the church occasionally after Mr. 
Gookin's death. From the time of his pas- 
torate a regular church record was made, whic h 
has been preserved in good condition. At the 
beginning of this record, Mr. Brattle says he 
"succeeded the Rev. Nathaniel Gookin, and 
was ordained a minister of Jesus Christ and 
a pastor to the flock at Cambridge, Nov. 25, 
1G90, per the Rev. Mr. Inc. Mather. The 
Rev. Mr. Morton, Mr. Allin, and Mr. Willard 
laid on hands. The Rev. Mr. Sam. Willard 
gave the right hand of fellowship. . . . Deo 
sit i^Lvia. Amen." 

The connection of Mr. Brattle with the church 
for more than twenty years was pcaceftd and 
prosperous. He contintied to teach in the 
College. After the death of his brother, 
Thomas Brattle, he acted as Treasurer of the 
College for about two years. His scholarship 
was recognized by his election to the Royal 



Society, — an honor conferred on very few 
Americans. After "a languishing distemper 
which he bore with great patience and resig- 
nation," he "died with peace and an extra- 
ordinary serenity of mind," Febiiary la, 1716- 
17, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. Mr. 
Brattle's son, William Brattle, Jr., was a con- 
spicuous leader in Cambridge for fifty years. 
He graduated at the College in 1722 and, 
married the daughter of Governor Gordon 
Saltonstall. He built the house at the eastern 
end of Brattle Street which, with its gardens 
running down to the river at the back, made 
the handsomest estate in the town. General 
Brattle was selectman for twenty-one years, 
representative for ten years, councillor for 
seventeen years, and major-general of the 
Provincial militia. In his old age he adhered 
to the Tory party, and died in exile in 177(1. 

It was during Mr. Brattle's pastorate that 
the meeting-house which had stood somewhat 
more than fifty years, became dilapidated and 
the town voted on July 12, 1703, that it was 
"necessary at this time to proceed to the build- 
ing of a new meeting-house, and in order there- 
unto, there was then chosen Capt. Andrew 
Belcher, Esq., Thomas Brattle, Esq., John 
Leverett, Esq., Col. Francis Foxcroft, Esq., 
Deacon Walter Hastings, Capt. Thomas Oliver, 
and Mr. William Rtissell, a committee to advise 
and consider of the model and charge of build- 
ing said meeting-house, and to make report 
of the same to said inhabitants." On Decem- 
ber (3, 1705, it was further "voted that the sum 
of two hundred and eighty pounds be levied 
on said inhabitants, toward the building of a 
new meeting-house amongst them." On the 
2Sth of September, 1703, the College granted 
sixty pounds "out of the College Treasury 
towards the building a new meeting-house:" 
and, August 0, 1700, "voted that Mr. Leverett 
with the Treasurer take care for the building 
of a pew for the President's family in the 
meeting-house now a building, and about the 
students' seats in the said meeting-house; 
the charge of the pew to be defrayed out of the 
College Treasury." This third house stood 
on or very near the spot occupied by the second, 
and seems to have been opened for public 
worship on October 13, 170(). 

In most New England country towns we 



66 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



expect to find a graveyard situated near the 
meeting-house; but in Cambridge there was 
no such connection. The enclosure at the 
comer of Massachusetts Avenue and Garden 
Street, if not the first burial ground, was cer- 
tainly used very nearly for that purpose. In 
the Town Records of January 4, l()35-(i, we 
read that it was "ordered that the burying- 
place shall be paled in." This continued to 
be the only public place of burial in Cambridge 
for many years; and in spite of the fence it 
seems not to have been very carefully guarded. 
As late as the year 1702 the graveyard was 
leased as a pasture for sheep, as appears from 
the following record: 

"At a meeting of the selectmen, 10th March, 
1700-1, Lieut. Aaron Boardman requesting 
that he might have the improvement of the 
Bur}'ing-yard (to keep sheep in) , the selectmen 
did consent that he should have the improve- 
ment of said yard (for the use above mentioned) 
for one year next ensuing, provided he would 
cut the gate of said yard asunder, and hang the 
same with suitable hooks and hinges, also fix a 
stub-post in the ground, and a rail from post to 
post cross the gates, for them to shut against ; 
all to be done in good workmanlike order; 
which the said Boardman promised to do." 

The funeral customs were as simple as the 
graveyard. When a Cambridge man came 
to be buried he went to his grave with the same 
simple solemnity which had marked his life. 
He had sought in his thought and habit an 
uncompromising reality and he wanted nothing 
else at death. Lechford's account of the 
funeral customs fits in brevity and dignity the 
occasion which it describes: "At burials 
nothing is read, nor any funeral sermon made; 
but all the neighborhood, or a good company 
of them, come together by tolling of the bell, 
and carry the dead solemnly to his grave and 
there stand by him while he is buried." 

One hundred years after the burial-place 
was ordered to be " paled in," the town directed 
it to be enclosed by a substantial stone wall 
in place of the pales and wooden fence; and 
it will be seen that the College, having a com- 
mon interest in the spot, contributed one 
sixth part of the expense of the work. This is 
shown from their record of the President and 
Fellows, under the date of October 20, 1735: 



"Whereas, there is a good stone wall erected 
and erecting round the burj'ing-place in 
Cambridge, which will come to about £150; 
and whereas, there has been a considerable 
regard had to the College in building so good 
and handsome a wall in the front; and the 
College has used, and expects to make use of 
the burying-place as Providence gives occasion 
for it; therefore, voted, that as soon as the 
said stone wall shall be completed, the treasurer 
pay the sum of twenty-five pounds to Samuel 
Danforth, William Brattle, and Andrew Board- 
man, Esq., a committee for the town to take 
care of the said fence." 

In this graveyard lie the early presidents 
of the College, Dunster, Chauncy, Oakes, 
Leverett, Wadsworth, Holyoke, Willard and 
Webber; the ministers, Shepard, Mitchell, 
Gookin, Brattle and Appleton; the early 
settlers, Roger Harlakenden, Stephen Day, 
Elijah Corlett; and the later generations, 
Danforths, Gookins, Boardmans, Belchers, 
Lees, Danas and many more. 

Immediately after the death of Mr. Brattle 
a meeting of the church was held to consider 
the calling of a new minister, and its proceedings 
were minutely recorded by President Leverett, 
in his Diary, which is in the College Library. 
As this meeting resulted in the settlement of a 
pastor who served the church for nearly sixty- 
seven years, almost as long as the combined 
ministry of his five predecessors, this record 
is worthy of preservation: "Friday, April the 
19th, 1717. At a meeting of the Church of 
Christ in Cambridge. 1. The President being 
desired by the deacons and brethren opened 
the meeting with prayer. 2. The deacons 
proposed that a moderator might be chosen 
for the ordering and directing the meeting. 
;5. Voted, that the President be moderator 
of this meeting. He submitted to the vote of 
the brethren of the Church, and, opening the 
design and intention of the meeting, earnestly 
desired that every body would freely discover 
their minds and declare what measures they 
thought proper, and what steps they would 
take in order to a settlement of the ministry 
in this place. After a due time of silence Mr. 
Justice Remington expressed himself, that the 
nomination of some suitable persons seemed 
to be the first step to be taken. Some others 



THE VILLAGE 



67 





Coi.o.MAi. (i.rii UiiLnJi. 




Nku 1 (iwNK ( i.uii HoirsE. 



6S 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



spake to the same effect. No opposition being 
expressed, a vote was called and it was voted. 
4. Voted, that the brethren express their 
minds as to nomination in writing, and the 
three persons that shall have the most votes 
shall be the jjcrsons nominated, out of which 
an election shall be made of one, in order to 
be settled in the pastoral office in this church. 
Pursuant to this vote, the brethren were 
desired by the moderators to write and bring 
in their votes, which they did; aad upon the 
view, numbering and declaring the vote, Mr. 
Henry Flint, Mr. Jabez Fitch, and Mr. Nathaniel 
Appleton were the three persons agreed to be 
nominated, out of which the brethren should 
proceed to an election. Accordingly the 
moderator desired the brethren of the Church 
to bring in their votes for the choice of a person 
to settle in the ministry in this place, viz. one 
of three before nominated persons. Pursuant 
hereto the church brought in their votes in 
writing, o. Upon sorting and numbering 
the votes, Mr. Nathaniel Appleton was by the 
church elected to the work of the ministry, in 
order to the taking ui)on him the pastoral 
office as God shall open the way thereunto. 
This was by a great majority; the votes for 
Mr. Appleton being 38, and the votes for Mr. 
Flint but S. The moderator declared to the 
church their election of Mr. Appleton as afore- 
said. (). It was proposed that those that had 
not voted for Mr. Appleton in writing might 
have the opportunity to manifest their satis- 
faction with the vote that had passed, that 
the brethren would manifest that they chose 
him as aforesaid by lifting up their hands, 
which was complied with, and it is said that 
there were but two that had acted in the 
foregoing votes that did not hold up their 
hands." 

After appointing a committee to ask the 
concurrence of the town with the chtirch in 
their choice, "the moderator concluded the 
meeting with returning thanks to God for the 
peaceable and comfortable management of 
the affairs of the church. Laus Deo." The 
town concurred, and Mr. Appleton was or- 
dained October 9, 1717. Dr. Increase Mather 
preached and gave the charge; Dr. Cotton 
Mather gave the right hand of Fellowship; and 
they, together with Rev. Messrs. John Rogers, 



of Ipswich, and Samuel Angier, of Watertown, 
imposed hands. 

The Parsonage l)uilt in l(i7() had now become 
dilapidated, and the town voted, August 1, 
1718, "that the sum of two hundred and fifty 
pounds be granted for the building a new 
Parsonage-house, provided the sum of one 
hundred and thirty pounds of the said money 
be procured by the sale of town, proprietj', 
or ministry lands in said town, as may be 
thought most proper to be disposed of for said 
use." The records do not distinctly indicate 
whether the Parsonage was wholly or only 
partly rebuilt, but apparently only the front 
was changed, for Dr. Holmes, writing in 1800, 
says, "All the ministers, since Mr. Mitchell, 
have resided at the Parsonage. The front 
part of the present house was built in 1720." 

The chief event of Dr. Appleton's long 
pastorate before the stirring days of the Revo- 
lution was the excitement caused by the 
religious revival which followed the coming of 
the Rev. George Whitefield. The extraordi- 
nary preaching gifts of this young exhortcr 
produced a remarkable effect upon the minds 
and hearts of the outwardly decorous but in- 
wardly emotional New Englanders. At the 
beginning the excitement was deemed inspira- 
tion; and it was not until the first fever had 
passed off, that it was discovered that the 
re\dval was not always followed by hallow- 
ing influences. There was no suspicion, how- 
ever, in the beginning, of the want of genuine- 
ness in any of the numerous conversions; and 
the Overseers of the College even passed a 
vote, "earnestly recommending it to the 
President, Tvttors, Professors, and Instructors, 
by personal application to the students under 
impressions of a religious nature, and by all 
other means, to encourage and promote this 
good work." No wonder that Whitefield, 
who was only twenty-six years old at the time 
of his first visit, should have come to think 
himself a divine instnmient, and shoidd have 
sincerely believed that he spake as he was 
moved by the Holy Ghost. His dentmcia- 
tions of the colleges and the churches were 
altogether more violent than the facts war- 
ranted. "As to the Universities," he said, 
" I believe it may be said that their light has 
become darkness — darkness that may be felt, 



THE VILLAGE 



69 



and is complained of by the most godly min- 
isters." "Tutors neglect to pray with and 
examine the hearts of their pvipils. Discipline 
is at too low an ebb." "Tillotson and Clarke 
are read, instead of Shepard and Stoddard, 
and such like evangelical writers." 

The factdty of the College joined in a protest 
against Whitefield's reckless stateinents, deny- 
ing their truth, and exposing their want of 
evidence, and their "uncharitaVjle," "censo- 
rious," and "slanderous" character. White- 
field replied, and Dr. Wigglesworth, the HoUis 
Professor of Divinity, responded to his pam- 
phlet by another, in which he wrote with a 
degree of severity to which his gentle nature 
coidd have been roused only by extreme prov- 
ocation. 

President Holyoke also entered the lists in 
defence of the College, and added an appendix 
to Dr. Wigglesworth's pamphlet, which closed 
a controversy that exhibited the ability with 
which the affairs of the College were managed. 
If there were realh' any design of " discouraging 
benefactors, injuring the seminary in estate 
as well as name, and preventing pious parents 
from sending their children to us for education," 
the attempt failed in the most satisfactory 
manner. 

Dr. Appleton and the people of the Cam- 
bridge Church shared the feelings of their 
neighbors. In the Boston Evening Post, of 
January 7, 174."), we read the following record 
of a gathering held at "Cambridge, Jan. 1, 
1744-5. At a meeting of the Association of 
this and the neighboring towns, present, the 
Reverend Messieurs John Hancock of Lex- 
ington, William Williams of Weston, John 
Cotton of Newton, Nath. Appleton of Cam- 
bridge, Warham Williams of Waltham, Seth 
Storer of Watertown, Eben. Turell of Medford, 
Nicholas Bowes of Bedford, Samuel Cook of 
Cambridge. The Rev. Mr. Appleton having 
applied to his brethren of said association for 
our advice, relating to a request which hath 
been made to him by a number of his church 
and congregation, that he would invite the 
Rev. Mr. George Whitefield to preach in 
Cambridge; after supplications to God and 
mature consideration of the case proposed, 
and the several pleas made in favor of said 
request, and the state of the town, as also the 



many weighty objections which lie against 
the said Mr. Whitefield, with respect to his 
principles, expressions, and conduct, which 
are not yet answered, nor has any Christian 
satisfaction been given by him for them; con- 
sidering also how much the order, peace and 
edification of the churches of this land are 
endangered, together with the unhappy, divided 
state of many of them; It was unanimously 
voted, that it was not advisable, under the 
present situation of things, that the Rev. Mr. 
Appleton should invite the Rev. Mr. White- 
field to preach in Cambridge. And they 
accordingly declared, each of them for them- 
selves respectively, that they would not invite 
the said gentleman into their pulpits. The 
above advice was signed by each member of 
the association." 

Another article relative to the same subject 
appeared in the Boston Weekly News Letter, 
of June 27, 174o; "Whereas it is reported in 
the Gazette or Journal of this week, that the 
Rev. Mr. Whitefield preached last Satiirday 
at Cambridge, to prevent misapprehension 
and some ill consequences which may arise 
from thence, you are desired to give your 
readers notice that he preached on the Common 
and not in the Pulpit; and that he did it, not 
only without the consent, but contrary to the 
mind, of the Rev. Mr. Appleton the minister 
of the place." 

It should be added that Whitefield himself 
came to a better understanding as he grew 
older. At the time of his later visit he said: 
" I certainly did drop some unguarded expres- 
sions in the heat of less experienced youth, 
and was too precipitate in hearkening to and 
publishing private information." He assured 
the faculty of the College of his "sorrow that 
he had published private informations ... to 
the world." Twenty j'ears later, after the 
College library had been burned, he gave to 
the College his "Journal and a collection of 
books; and also by his influence he procured 
a large number of valuable books from several 
parts of Great Britain." 

In 1753 the Parish resolved to again build 
a new meeting-house, and this purpose was 
encouraged by the President and Fellows of 
the College who voted to pay "one seventh 
part of the charge of said house," provided 



70 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



the students should have the use of the whole 
front gallery, and "at least the third or fourth 
pew as to the choice" be set apart for "the 
President for the time being and his family." 
The erection of the house was delayed about 
three years. It was raised on November 17, 
175(5, and public worship was first held in it 
on July 24, 1757. In this building all the 
College commencements and inaugurations, 
during more than seventy years, were cele- 
brated; and no building in Massachusetts 
could compare with it in the number of dis- 
tinguished men who at different times were 
assembled within its walls. The first and 
second Provincial Congresses, under the presi- 
dencies of Joseph Warren and John Hancock, 
met there. Washington worshiped there 
during the siege of Boston. In 1779, the dele- 
gates from the towns of Massachusetts there 
met and framed the Constitution of the Com- 
monwealth, which the people of that state 
ratified in 1780. There Lafayette, on his 
triumphal visit to the United States, in 1824, 
was eloquently welcomed. 

This fourth meeting-house, which housed 
the congregation until 1833, was the center 
of the village. It stood on the site of the two 
former houses, very nearly where Dane Hall 
now stands, opposite the head of Dunster 
Street. At the western end a substantial 
tower, springing from the ground and pro- 
jecting from the main building, was surmotmted 
by a belfry and a graceful spire capped with 
the customary gilt weathercock. The prin- 
cipal entrance was on the south, facing the 
pulpit. The house was nearly square and 
galleries ran around three sides. The eastern 
gallery was allotted to the students and teachers 
of the College; the west gallery was free; that 
on the south was occupied by the choir. The 
ground floor was divided into square pews, 
having seats which could be raised on hinges 
to afford standing-room during prayer. When 
the prayer ended they were let down with a 
slam which marked with portentous emphasis 
that stage in the services. Organ there was 
none; the music was supplied by a redoubtable 
bass-viol, supplemented by some wind instru- 
ments and a volunteer choir. 

The list of the subscribers for the building 
of this meeting-house sets forth the names of 



all the chief inhabitants of Cambridge in 1756. 
The largest subscriber was Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Phips who gave 40 pds. President 
Holyoke, Professor John Winthrop, General 
William Brattle, Judge Edmund Trowbridge, 
Colonel Henry Vassall, and Deacon Jonathan 
Hastings gave 20 pds. or more. Andrew 
Boardman, Francis Foxcroft, Ebenezer Bradish, 
Samuel Danforth, Richard Gardner, Ebenezer 
Stedman, Professor Edward Wigglesworth, 
Dr. Appleton, and Richard Dana were among 
the larger givers; and there also appear on the 
list the representatives of such reliable Cam- 
bridge family stocks as Wyeth, Warland, Hicks, 
Whittemore, Read, Prentice, Tufts, Thatcher, 
Angier, Kidder, Morse, Richardson and Spar- 
hawk. 

The seating plan of the meeting-house still 
exists. It was the custom to assign the seats 
in order of dignity. The best pews were those 
at the right and left of the door against the 
wall facing the pulpit. These were assigned 
to Lieutenant-Governor Phips, General 
Brattle, President Holyoke, Colonel Vassall, 
Professor Winthrop, Deacon Sparhawk and 
the minister's family. The other wall pews 
were occupied by the Wigglesworths, Board- 
mans, Danas, Hastings, Trowbridges, Gardners, 
Bradishes and Foxcrofts. 

Some of the names connected with the build- 
ing of this meeting-house indicate that a new 
element had come into the life of Cambridge 
with the advent of a number of families of 
wealth and social standing who elected to 
make their homes in the village. The first 
of these was the family of Spencer Phips, who 
was colonel of the militia, a councillor, and 
from 1732 to 1757 Lieutenant-Governor. He 
was the son of Dr. David Bennett of Rowley, 
and was at an early age adopted by Sir William 
Phips, the bluff, illiterate Governor of the 
Province, whose wife was the sister of Mrs. 
Bennett. Young Bennett took the name of 
Phips, graduated at Harvard in 1703, and in- 
herited the Governor's ample estate. In 1706 
he bought a tract of three hundred acres cover- 
ing almost all of what is now East Cambridge 
and developed there a large farm. In 1714 
he bought the fine place at the eastern end of 
Cambridge village which had been General 
Gookin's homestead and more lately had been 



THE VILLAGE 



71 



the residence of Dr. James Oliver. The house 
is still standing at Arrow and Bow Streets, 
names which not only describe the position 
of the streets toward each other, but also recall 
the fact that the gate to Governor Phips's 
estate was guarded by the wooden figures 
of two Indians which were a source of wonder 
and sometimes of terror to the village children. 
Spencer Phips died in 1757. and the estate came 
to his son, David Phips, who was colonel of 
the militia and for ten years High Sheriff of 
Middlesex. The four daughters of Spencer 



properties on Brattle Street which continue 
to be^^known by the Vassall name, but which are 
more closely identified with the brother and 
the son, Henry Vassall and John Vassall the 
younger, than with the original purchaser 
who died in 1747. Mary Phips in 175 1 married 
Richard Lechmere, and the next year the 
youngest daughter, Rebecca Phips, married 
Joseph Lee. The Lechmeres acquired the 
estate which is now the Brewster place at 
the comer of Brattle and Sparks Streets, and 
the Lees established themselves just beyond 




MEETI.NG- HOUSE I\ COLLEGE YARD I756-1S3J 
HARVARD SQUARE IN" 1830 



Phips married men of high standing and 
abundant means, and all of them continued 
to live in Cambridge. Sarah, the eldest, 
married, in 1731, Andrew Boardman, who was, 
as we have seen, for twenty-two years the 
representative of the town in the General 
Court, and for seventeen years a judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas. They lived in the 
Boardman homestead on the south side of 
Harvard Square. Elizabeth married Colonel 
John Vassall, in 1734, and they bought the 



in]^the fine old mansion which is still standing. 
Henry Vassall was the brother of the elder 
John Vassall and bought of him the mansion 
still standing on the south side of Brattle Street 
near Ash Street. He married the daughter 
of Colonel Isaac Royall, who, like the father 
of the two Vassalls, made a fortune in the West 
Inches, and then came to live in New Eng- 
land, and to educate his children there. John 
Vassall, the younger, built the stately house 
on the north side of Brattle Street, which, 



72 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIIK',!:. MASSACHUSETTS 



with the exception of Mount Vernon, is the 
most famous dwelling house in America, for 
it was Washington's headquarters and after- 
wards the home of Henry Wadsworth Long- 
fellow. 

These families were, for the most part, 
members of the Church of England, and to 
provide for them a spiritual home, an Episcopal 
church was organized in 1759, and Christ 
Church built. The plans were furnished by 
Peter Harrison of Newport, R.I., the architect 
of the Redwood Library of that city, and of 
King's Chapel in Boston; and, despite the 
material used, it was deemed "a model of 
beauty of proportion." It was opened for 
worship on October 15th, 1761, and for thirteen 
or fourteen years its straight-back, sqtiare 
pews were occupied Ijv the loyal wealth and 
aristocracy of Cambridge. The rector ex- 
potmded the doctrines of Church and State 
to his flock from a cumbrous wineglass pulpit, 
which then stood in front of the chancel and 
at the head of the middle aisle; and the ward- 
ens sat at the other end of the church, their 
rods of ofhce warning imruly attendants to 
beware of constituted authority; while an 
excellent London organ, built by Snetzler, 
gave forth chant and anthem from the loft 
overhead. 

The first rector of Christ Church was the 
Rev. East Apthorp, a missionary of the Society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel, an earnest 
and scholarly man, who came to Cambridge 
in 1761, with an evident purpose of making it 
his permanent home, for he built himself the 
large mansion which is still standing between 
Linden and Plympton Streets. The good 
rector was suspected of aspiring to be the 
Bishop of New England, and his mansion was 
called in derision the Bishop's Palace. In 
1764, he gave up his post and returned to 
England, where he had a prosperous career- 
He was succeeded by the Rev. Winwood Ser- 
jeant. 

Among the Cambridge families of the Christ 
Church congregation were the Lechmeres, the 
Lees, the Olivers, the Ruggleses, the Phipses, 
the Sewalls, the Borlands, the Inmans and the 
Vassalls. Mr. Robert Temple and his accom- 
plished wife and lovely daughters drove over 
every Sunday from Ten Hills Farm in Medford. 



From Medford also came Colonel Isaac Royall, 
whose daughter had married Henry Vassall. 
Many of these families, as has been seen, were 
connected by relationship and marriage. Mrs. 
Lee, Mrs. Lechmere and Mrs. John Vassall the 
elder, were sisters of Colonel David Phips, and 
daughters of Lieutenant-Governor Spencer 
Phips. The "pretty, little, dapper man. 
Colonel Oliver," as Reverend Mr. Serjeant 
used to call in sport the sometime lieutenant- 
governor, married a sister of Colonel John 
Vassall the younger, and Colonel Vassall 
married the sister of Colonel Oliver. Mrs. 
Ruggles and Mrs. Borland were the sisters of 
Henry and John Vassall. These families were 
on very intimate terms with one another and 
scarcel}' a day passed that did not bring them 
together for social pleasures. All of them were 
loyalists and the sad fate that overtook them 
in the Revolutionary upheaval must be de- 
scribed later. 

Another new element came into Cambridge 
with the advent of several distinguished 
lawyers. The first generation had got along 
without lawyers, and the local coiirts held by 
the magistrates had sufficed for the ends of 
justice. In the more complicated life of the 
seventeenth century the provincial and county 
courts became more important, and a genera- 
tion of distinguished lawyers laid the founda- 
tions of the pre-eminence of the Massachusetts 
bar. Three of these men were the sons of old 
Cambridge families. 

In the latter part of the seventeenth century 
Jonathan Remington kept the Blue Anchor 
Tavern, and served as selectman of Cambridge, 
and as town clerk. He was a man of property 
and much engaged in public affairs, and his 
son, Jonathan Remington, Jr., became the 
first legal avithority of his time. He graduated 
at Harvard in 1696 and then served as a tutor. 
He began the practice of law in Cambridge in 
1710, was a selectman for several years, for 
twelve years a representative in the General 
Court, for eleven years a coimsellor, and then 
until his death a judge of the Supreme Court. 
His daughter, Martha Remington, in 1 7M7 
married Edmund Trowbridge, a Cambridge 
boy and the grandson of Colonel Edward Goffe. 
Judge Trowbridge in turn became attorney- 



THE VILLAGE 



73 



general of the Province and a justice of the 
Supreme Court. His sister, Lydia Trowbridge, 
married in 1737 Richard Dana, who was also 
a counsellor and barrister at law, and the 
father of Francis Dana, the most distinguished 
citizen of Cambridge in the period just after 
the Revolution. The Danas established them- 
selves on what is now known as Dana Hill 
and built a homestead on the northwest corner 
of Massachusetts Avenue and Dana Street. 
Francis Dana was a delegate to the Continental 
Congress, a presidential elector in 1789, Am- 
bassador to Russia, and finally Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. 

A brief description of the village as it ap- 
peared just before the Revolution will serve 
to show how its boundaries had been enlarged. 
The center was at Harvard Square, which 
was really the southern end of the Common 
which stretched, a dusty, treeless waste, to 
the north, and was crossed by the Menotomy 
Road (now Massachusetts Avenue) and by 
other cart tracks, which ultimately became 
Garden, Mason and Waterhouse Streets and 
Concord Avenue. On the east side of the 
Square stood the meeting-house, on the south 
side were the Boardman house and various 
smaller houses, on the west was the little court 
house which had been built out of the timbers 
taken out of the old meeting-house destroyed 
in 175G, and northward, where the Common 
began to widen, were the graveyard and Christ 
Church. Soiith of the Square the original 
village retained its rectangidar plan and was 
the most thickly settled part of the town. 
The highway to Boston (now Boylston Street) 
ran down to the causeway and the Great 
Bridge, and Ebenezer Bradish's Tavern stood 
by the old market-place ready to entertain 
the wayfarer. Across the market-place (now 
Winthrop Square) was the jail, which was 
cared for by Ebenezer Bradish's brother, Isaac 
Bradish, who was also the blacksmith with a 
smithy next the jail on Winthrop Street. Just 
to the east of the Boston Road, on what is 
now Mt. Auburn Street, was the tavern of 
Captain Ebenezer Stedman, and to the west, 
across what is now Brattle Square, were the 
house and the extensive grounds of General 
Brattle. 



Going eastward from the meeting-house 
along what is now Massachusetts Avenue, 
one came first, on the left, to the President's 
house, which is still standing and known as 
Wadsworth. House. Next to it stood Professor 
Wigglesworth's house, which was the old 
original Hooker-Shepard house made over at 
the time of President Leverett's inauguration 
in 17U7. The Wigglesworths were successively 
the HoUis Professors of Divinity, and the proof 
of their scholarship could be seen in a hole 
worn through the floor by their feet under the 
desk of the room used, by father and son, as 
a study. Next to this interesting house stood 
the old parsonage, the residence successively 
of Dr. Urian Oakes, of Rev. Nathaniel Gookin, 
Rev. William Brattle and Dr. Nathaniel Apple- 
ton. This venerable house underwent occa- 
sional repairs which materially altered its 
appearance and freshened its life. It was 
finally removed in 1843 and the Wigglesworth 
house was taken down a 3'ear later. On the 
right-hand side of the road opposite the parson- 
age stood the "Bishop's Palace," which faced 
south. After Mr. Apthorp's departure it had 
been bought by Mr. John Borland, who had 
married a sister of Henry Vassall. The Bor- 
lands had added a third story to the mansion, 
it is said, for the accommodation of their 
slaves, but as they had twelve children it is 
more probable that they needed the extra 
rooms for their large family. Beyond was the 
estate of Colonel David Phips, where he and his 
wife and seven children entertained with 
princely hospitality. 

Continuing eastward, over what was then 
known as Butler's Hill, one passed Mr. Dana's 
House; set in the midst of orchards and culti- 
vated grounds, and then came to Mr. Ralph 
Inman's estate, which was the last house in 
the direction of Boston and stood just back 
of where the City Hall now is. Mr. Inman was 
another of the Tory aristocrats of the town, 
and a member of Christ Church. Mrs. Inman 
was a remarkable woman. She was a staunch 
Scotch woman, and had the energy' of character 
common to that people. She had crossed 
the ocean many times in company with her 
brother, Mr. James Murray, and she had been 
three times married. When she was Elizabeth 
Murray she carried on a business in a shop at 



74 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 




ELMWOOD— LOWHLL S HUUSE 




(_RAli.lh -Lii.M .!■ i-.i,i,' 



THE VILLAGE 



75 



the corner of Queen Street and Cornhill in 
Boston, and made for herself a comfortable 
fortune. Her first husband, Mr. vSmith, also 
left her his whole estate, so that she had all the 
luxuries of wealth. Her education and social 
advantages united to make her a most de- 
lightful companion, and one whose presence 
was eagerly sought. In spite of her Tory con- 
nections she remained in Cambridge during 
the Revolutionary troubles, and owing to her 
acquaintance with General Putnam, Major 
Mifflin and other American officers, was secured 
from molestation. On the da}- of the battle of 
Bunker Hill, General Putnam deputed his son 
to remain in Cambridge to guard Mrs. Inman 
— a proof of the high regard he entertained 
for her. 

Turning to 
the north 
from the 
meeting- 
house one 
passed on the 
right the col- 
lege buildings, 
M a s s a c h u - 
setts, Stough- 
ton and Har- 
vard, Holden 
Chapel and richardso 

HoUis Hall, and then, across the Charlestown 
road, which is now Kirkland Street, came to a 
gambrel-roofed house which shielded itself be- 
hind a row of Lombardy poplars. This was the 
house of Jonathan Hastings, the college steward, 
and was famous later as the headquarters of the 
Committee of Safety, and of General Ward, and 
still later, as the birthplace of Oliver Wendell 
Holmes. Northeast of the Hastings house lived 
Mr. Moses Richardson, one of the Cambridge 
men who were killed in the Lexington battle, and 
northeastward stretched the acres of the Fox- 
croft estate. Along the Menotomy road were 
several houses, from that of Captain Walton of 
the militia company, to the Frost house on what 
is now Linnaean Street, which practically marked 
the northern end of the village. 

At the western end of the town there were 
several houses along Garden Street, and the 
handsome houses of "Ton,- Row" had all come 




into being. Beyond the Brattle estate, on 
either side of the road to Watcrtown, now 
Brattle Street, were the estates of Mrs. Henry 
Vassal on the left and John Vassal on the right. 
Next, was the residence which Richard Lech- 
mere had just sold to Judge Jonathan Sewall, 
the Attorney-General of the Province. The 
Phips farm, which is now East Cambridge, 
had passed into the hands of Mr. Lcchmcre 
on his marriage with Miss Phips, and later 
became known as Lechmere's Point. The 
boundaries of the Lechmere-Sewall estate ex- 
tended to Judge Joseph Lee's, a house still 
standing almost unchanged. Judge Lee had 
bought it in 1758 of the widow of Cornelius 
Waldo. The frame of the house was brought 

from Eng- 
land, not be- 
cause Mas- 
sachusetts 
had no trees, 
but because 
it was feared 
that capable 
workmen 
could not be 
found to put 
together a 
_ h o u s e t h a t 

•''■ HOUSE would suit 

the fastidious taste of its owner. Next above 
was the Fayerweather house, which was built 
in 174.S by Captain George Ruggles, another 
wealthy West Indian planter, who had married 
another of the sisters of Henry Vassall. Later 
he became embarrassed, and in 1774 the prop- 
erty came to Thomas Fayerweather, whose 
wife was the daughter of the College treasurer, 
Thomas Hubbard. The last house was the 
mansion of Thomas Oliver, who built it about 
1760, and which is famous as Elmwood, the 
residence later of Elbridge Gerry, vice-president 
of the United States; of Rev. Charles Lowell of 
the West Church in Boston; and the birthplace 
and home of James Russell Lowell. All of these 
seven houses of the "Tory- Row," with the ex- 
ception of the Lechmere-Sewall house, are still 
standing along Brattle Street, and make it not 
only one of the most beautiful, but also one of 
the most historic streets in America. 



VIII 

THE SIEGE 



THE lime had now come when Massa- 
chusetts was to cease to be either colon}' 
or province and to become a sovereign 
commonwealth. It was not a sudden change. 
The traditions and training of the New England 
people had long been preparing them for self- 
governing independcnc)-. They were of the 
same stock as the Englishmen who defied the 
royal power at Naseby and Marston Moor, 
who sent Charles Stuart to the block and drove 
his son James across the narrow seas. They 
were the sons of men and women who had 
bought at a great price the right to be free, 
and they were ready to complete the purchase. 
In their churches these descendants of the 
Puritans had been taught the authority of 
conscience, the sovereignty of dut}', the de- 
mands of justice and right. They had been 
trained to choose their own rulers in church 
and state, and the spirit of liberty had become 
a force which could not be resisted. 

Long before the outbreak of the Revolution 
there was great and widespread discontent 
in America over the ways in which American 
affairs were managed by the British govern- 
ment and its representatives. From his suc- 
cession, in 1760, King George the Third, with 
all the intensity of a narrow mind, had striven 
to impose his personal will upon his ministers. 
The emphasis upon the prerogative of a dull 
and arbitrary king was reflected in all the 
departments of the government, but it par- 
ticularly influenced the colonial policies. When 
America began to resist, the king's tempera- 
mental obstinacy was aroused and the struggle 
with the colonies thus became a part of the 
struggle between popular and autocratic prin- 
ciples of government in England itself. Three 
lines of policy were adopted by the Grenville 
ministry which grew to be the direct causes of 
the American Revolution. The first was the 
rigid execution of that system of mediaeval 
monopolies known as the Acts of Trade; the 
second was the taxation of the colonies for 



the partial support of British garrisons; the 
third was the permanent establishment of 
British troops in America. 

There is scarcely a proceeding in the pre- 
liminary struggles of the Revolution which is 
not illustrated by the votes of the Cambridge 
town meeting. It is true that the life of the 
town was not especially disturbed by the acts 
of the British Parliament however arbitrary, 
and that the local interests of Cambridge were 
not seriously impaired by the enforcement 
of the navigation acts; but the attitude of 
the citizens of the town in opposition to the 
royal measures for raising revenue by taxing 
the colonies was bold and unyielding. In 
town meeting in October, 1765, they declared 
the Stamp Act to be an infraction of their 
rights, demanded its immediate repeal and 
instructed their representatives to do nothing 
which should aid its operation. 

The riotous outbreak in Boston, which 
resulted in the destruction of Lieutenant- 
Governor Hutchinson's house, did not, how- 
ever, meet with any approval. The Cam- 
bridge people voted that they "abhorred and 
detested" such proceedings, and would use 
their utmost endeavors to protect the property 
of residents of Cambridge from. such outrages. 
While they were thus otitspoken in condemna- 
tion of the violence of the mob, it appears that 
they were not ready to have the loss charged 
to the province, and thriftily recommended 
that their representatives should vote against 
any such proceeding. From this opinion, after 
the repeal of the Stamp Act, they receded, and, 
at a town meeting a year later, instructed their 
representatives to favor compensation to those 
who had suffered at the hand of the mob. 

The change in the British government by 
which the Rockingham ministry had succeeded 
the Grenville ministry and the consequent 
repeal of the Stamp Act removed the immediate 
difficulty, but the principle of taxing the 
colonies was by no means abandoned. When 



THE SIEGE 



77 



Charles Townshend laecame the leading spirit 
of the ministry he declared in the House of 
Commons — " I know a mode in which a reveniie 
may be drawn from America without offence 
. . . England is undone if this taxation of 
America is given up." Accordingly in Jtme, 
1767, a new Taxation Act was introduced, and 
rapidly passed through Parliament. In order 
to avoid the objections to "internal taxes," it 
laid import duties on various articles and 
especially on tea. The proceeds of the act 
were to be used to pay the salaries of the royal 
governors and judges in America. A few 
months afterwards, — December, 17(J7, — a colo- 
nial department was created, headed by 
a secretary of state. The machinery of what 
might prove to be an exasperating control was 
thus pro\-ided for, and the principle of taxation, 
once admitted, might, of course, be carried 
farther. The actual amount of money invoh'cd 
was not a heavy burden on the colonics, but 
it was to be used in such a way as to make the 
governors and judges independent of the local 
assemblies. 

Public feeling in America ran high. At the 
Cambridge town meeting of November 20, 
1767, the opposition of the town to the collec- 
tion of the duty on tea was set forth as forcibly 
as possible. The claim of Parliament to tax 
the colonists was firmly denied. The sending 
of the tea, subject to the payment of duties, 
was a violent attack on the liberties of America. 
Every person who should aid, directly or in- 
directly, in unloading, receiving, or vending 
any tea subject to these duties, was declared 
to be an enemy of America. The factors 
appointed to receive the tea in Boston, who 
had been requested to resign this appointment, 
biit who had refused to do so, had by this 
conduct forfeited all right to the respect of 
their fellow-countrymen. Finally, it was re- 
solved "That the people of this town can no 
longer stand idle spectators, but are ready, on 
the shortest notice, to join with the town of 
Boston, and other towns, in any measures 
that may be thoiight proper, to deliver our- 
selves and posterity from slaver}'." 

The protest of the other towns and of the 
various colonial and provincial assemblies was 
equally positive, but the ministry proceeded 
to new repressive measures. It was proposed 



that American agitators be sent to England 
for trial and troops were sent to Boston. The 
regiments arrived in September, 17()S, and for 
nearly eight years Boston was a garrisoned 
town. There was constant friction between 
the troops and the people, which broke into 
riot on March o, 1770, in the affray known as 
the Boston Massacre. 

In November, 1772, Committees of Corre- 
spondence were formed throughout Massa- 
chusetts, and later in the other colonies. The 
circular letter issued by the Boston Committee 
was duly read at a town meeting held in 
Cambridge, December 1-lth, and a committee 
was appointed on the part of Cambridge, 
which was instructed to acquaint the Boston 
committee that Cambridge would "heartily 
concur in all salutary, proper and constitutional 
measures for the redress of the intolerable 
grievances which threatened, and which, if 
continued, would overthrow the happy civil 
constitution of the province." The com- 
mittee was also instructed to take under con- 
sideration the infringements upon the rights 
of the people which were complained of, and 
to report at an adjournment of the meeting. 
After a recess of a few minutes this committee 
siibmitted a report, in which a long and care- 
fully prepared review of the situation prefaced 
instructions to the Cambridge representative, 
Captain Thomas Gardner, to use his greatest 
influence at the next session of the General 
Court for a speedy redress of all grievances. 
A year later, December 16, 1773, came the 
Boston Tea Party — the violent expression of 
the sentiments of the people against the tax. 
It made further conciliation practically im- 
possible. 

It was not in the temper of Englishmen 
and still less of their King, to withdraw or to 
change front in the face of such daring -resist- 
ance. Five new bills were introduced and 
hastily pushed through Parliament. The first 
enacted that no further commerce was to be 
permitted with the port of Boston till that 
town should make its submission. The second 
act abolished certain provisions of the charter 
granted by William III in 1692. Under the 
old charter, the members of the Governor's 
Council were chosen in a convention consisting 
of the Council of the preceding year and the 



78 



A HISTORY (»!■ CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Assembly. Each councillor held office for a 
year, and was paid out of an appropriation 
made by the Assembly. Under the new act 
the members of the Council were to be appointed 
by the governor on a royal writ of mandamus, 
and their salaries were to be paid by the Crown. 
The governor and his dependent Council could 
appoint sheriffs and all the judges and court 
officers, and they too were to be paid from the 
royal treasury and removed at the king's pleas- 
ure. Worse than all, the town-meeting system 
of local self-government was practically de- 
stroyed. Town meetings could indeed be held 
twice a year for the election of town officers, 
but no other business could be tran.sacted in 
them. "The effect of all these changes would, 
of course, be to concentrate all power in the 
hands of the governor, leaving no check what- 
ever upon his arbitrary will. It would, in short, 
transform Massachusetts into an absolute 
despotism, such as no Englishman had ever 
lived under in any age." The third act di- 
rected that "persons questioned for any Acts 
in Execution of the Law" should be sent to 
England for trial. The fourth act provided 
for the quartering of soldiers upon the inhabi- 
tants, and was intended to establish a military 
government in Massachusetts. The fifth act 
provided for the government of the region 
ceded by France in 1763, and among other 
things it annexed to Canada the whole terri- 
tory between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers 
and the Great Lakes. The purpose was un- 
doubtedly to remove the danger of disaffection 
or insurrection in Canada, but at the same 
time the act extinguished all the title of Con- 
necticut, Massachusetts and Virginia to the 
region west of Pennsylvania. 

The news of these coercive measures was 
received in Massachusetts on May 10th. Soon 
after the new military governor. General Gage, 
appeared, and in a few weeks the Boston Port 
Bill and the modifications of the charter began 
to be ruthlessly enforced. The committees 
of the Massachusetts towns promptly met, and 
adopted a circular letter, prepared by Samuel 
Adams, to be sent to all the other colonies, 
asking for their sympathy and co-operation. 
The response was prompt and emphatic. In 
the course of the summer, conventions were 
held in nearly all the colonies, declaring that 



Boston should be regarded as "suffering in 
the common cause." The obnoxious acts 
of Parliament were printed on paper with deep 
black borders, and in some towns were publicly 
burned by the common hangman. Droves 
of cattle and flocks of sheep, cartloads of wheat 
and maize, vegetables and fruit, barrels of 
sugar, quintals of dried fish, provisions of every 
sort, were sent overland as free gifts to the 
Boston people, even the distant rice-swamps 
of South Carolina contributing their share. 
The 1st of June was kept in Virginia as a day 
of fasting and prayer. In Philadelphia bells 
were muffled and tolled in the principal 
churches; and ships put their flags at half- 
mast. Marblehead, which was appointed to 
supersede Boston as the port of entry, imme- 
diately invited the merchants of Boston to 
use its wharves and warehouses free of charge 
in shipping and unshipping their goods. 

The time was at hand when men would be 
wanted more than money or provisions or 
votes of sympathy. This had become plain 
to at least one American. People were telling 
of the excellence of the oratory in the Virginia 
Convention, and enthusiastic Virginians had 
assured John Adams that Richard Henry Lee 
and Patrick Henry would respectively bear 
comparison with Cicero and with Demosthenes. 
But a delegate from South Carolina, who on his 
way to the meeting of the Continental Congress 
had stopped to see what they were doing in 
the Old Dominion, gave it as his opinion that 
the most eloquent speech had been made by a 
certain Colonel Washington. "I will raise," 
that officer had said, "one thousand men 
towards the relief of Boston, and subsist them 
at my own expense." 

Another violent outbreak coidd not be long 
postponed, and this time Cambridge was the 
scene of action. The powder belonging to the 
Province had been stored in the magazine ■\\'hich 
is still standing in the Powder House Park in 
Somerville. This stock General Gage deter- 
mined to secure. On the morning of the first 
of September, in the early dayhght, detach- 
ments of troops in boats rowed up the Mystic, 
landed at the Temple's Farm, seized the powder, 
and also secured two cannon belonging to Gen- 
eral Brattle's regiment, and carried them off 
down the harbor to the Castle. Rumors of 



THE SIEGE 



79 



violence and bloodshed spread rapidly through 
the country, and before nightfall the New 
England militia were marching toward Boston. 

The companies converged upon Cambridge, 
whence the Lieutenant-Governor, Thomas 
Oliver, rode hastily to Boston, to implore Gage 
to send out no more troops. The militia paraded 
upon Cambridge Common and called for the 
newly appointed mandamus councillors. The 
two Cambridge members of the Council, Judge 
Danforth and Judge Lee, promised to resign 
at once and to be in no way concerned in the 
acts of the government. Each submitted a 
written promise attested by the clerk of the 
court. Then the high-sheriff of Middlesex, 
Colonel David Phips, was forced to promise 
to do nothing toward executing the new laws. 

Benjamin Hallowell, the Commissioner of 
Customs, had a narrow escape. Passing in 
his chaise by the crowds on the Common, he 
"spoke somewhat contemptuously of them." 
Some mounted men promptly rode after him. 
On seeing them coming he stopped his chaise, 
unhitched his horse and mounted, and galloped 
to Boston Neck, where he fotlnd safety. 

After securing the withdrawal of Lee and 
Danforth, the people flocked up Brattle Street 
to the house of Lieutenant-Governor Oliver, 
who had returned from Boston, and demanded 
his resignation from the Council. This, after 
demurring, Oliver gave, "My house at Cam- 
bridge," he wrote, " being surrounded by about 
four thousand people, in compliance with their 
command I sign my name, — Thomas Oliver." 
General Brattle, the colonel of the Middlesex 
regiment, was then sought for but had gone 
to Boston. Thence he wTOte an explanatory 
and apologetic letter, in which he denounced 
the threatenings he had received and his prac- 
tical banishment from his home. 

This was obviously one of the most exciting 
days in the history of Cambridge. The temper 
of the people was incapable of being misimder- 
stood. There was no reasonable ground for 
objecting to the removal of the powder and 
guns which really belonged to the Province 
and there was no collision with the troops, 
but it is obvious that the 2d of September, 
1774, just escaped the historic importance of 
the 19th of April of the succeeding year. 

The Massachusetts Assemblv met at Salem 



on October 11, 1774. The Cambridge dele- 
gates were Thomas Gardner and John Win- 
throp. After waiting two days for the Gov- 
ernor who never came, the members constituted 
themselves into a Congress, and adjourned 
first to Concord and later to the Cambridge 
Meeting-house. The Assembly first took pains 
to define their constitutional position, and to 
defend it by adducing precedents and quoting 
charters, and then they went on to the more 
pressing business of the hour. They began 
by ordering "that all the matters that come 
before the Congress be kept secret, and be not 
disclosed to any but the members thereof 
until further order of this body." Then, 
on the 24th of October, they appointed a 
committee to consider the proper time for 
laying in warlike stores; and on the same day 
the committee reported that the proper time 
was now. Without delay they voted the pur- 
chase of twenty field pieces and four mortars; 
twenty tons of grape and round shot; five 
thousand muskets and bayonets, and seventy- 
five thousand flints. They made an agreement 
to pay no more taxes into the royal Treasury, 
and arranged a system of assessment for the 
purpose of provincial defence. They then 
proceeded to elect by ballot three generals, 
Jedediah Preble, Artemas Ward and Seth 
Pomeroy. They appointed a Committee of 
Public Safety, of which John Hancock was 
the most notable and Joseph Warren the most 
active member. The}' invested that Com- 
mittee with authority to call out the militia, 
every fourth man of whom was expected to 
hold himself ready to march at a minute's 
notice; — a condition of service that suggested 
the name of Minutemen. Then they ad- 
journed until the fourth Wednesday in No- 
vember; by which time the Committee of 
Public Safety, disbursing their funds thriftily, 
had bought in addition to the prescribed 
amount of ordnance three hundred and fifty 
spades and pick-axes, a thousand wooden 
messbowls, and some pease and flour. " That," 
said Sir George Trevelyan, "was their stock of 
material wherewith to fight the empire which 
recently, with hardly any sense of distress, had 
maintained a long war against France and 
Spain, and had left them humbled and half 
ruined at the end of it." 



80 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



The irrevocable step was thus taken in the 
Cambridge meeting-house. That which for 
months, and perhaps years, had been a fact 
became now a visible and palpable finality. 
The action of the Assembly at Cambridge gave 
aim and purpose to the seething excitement of 
the Pro\-ince . ' ' Appointing a receiver-general , ' ' 
wTote Dr. Reynolds, "it took possession of the 
pxirse; organizing a committee of safety, it 
seized the sword; through its committee of 
supplies it gathered the munitions of war; by 
its minute inquiries it may almost be said to 
have counted up every musket and fowling- 
piece, and weighed every ounce of powder, in 
the Pro\-inoc. It appointed commanders and 



one foot beyond the girdle of the bayonets of 
his soldiers. " No visible lines of intrenchment 
rose on the hills which surrounded Boston, 
but all the same the beleaguerment was there, 
ready at the first hostile movement to become 
manifest and impregnable. Like the fabled 
net of the magician, its meshes were so fine 
that the keenest eye could not see them; so 
strong that a giant's struggles could not break 
them." 

The tumultuous events of the 19th of April, 
1775, lie somewhat outside of the scope of this 
narrative, but both of the British columns that 
marched to Lexington on that momentous 




CAMBRIDGE COMMON. 1775 



commissaries; it established military laws and 
regidations; it collected in depots provisions, 
clothing, tents, and military supplies of all sorts; 
and it purchased powder, muskets and cannon." 
It is obvious that the siege of Boston was really 
a much longer affair than the eleven months of 
actual investment. It began long before those 
April days when the farmers from all the New 
England states came hurrying to Cambridge, 
and with little or no plan of action, encamped 
upon the encircling hills, and with military 
instinct began to intrench themselves. It 
would be nearer the truth to say that the siege 
began on the day that General Gage landed, 
for never was he governor in Massachusetts 



day trod our Cambridge soil. The first ex- 
pedition was ferried over the river in the boats 
of the fleet, landed at Phips' Farm or Lech- 
mere's Point, filed in the darkness along the 
causeway which crossed the marshes and so 
went on its way to destro}' the stores at Con- 
cord. The supporting column under Lord 
Percy left Boston about nine in the morning 
and marched by the way of the highway over 
the neck. Before noon Lord Percy came to 
the " Great Bridge," at the foot of what is now 
Boylston Street. The Cambridge folk had 
been warned of his coming. Hastily they tore 
up the planking of the Bridge, but frugally 
piled the planks on the Cambridge side of the 



THE SIEGE 



81 



river. The delay was therefore but sHght 
for Percy's vanguard crossed on the string 
pieces of the bridge and quickly put the planks 
again in place so that the infantry could march 
over them. The wagon train was delayed 
until the planks could be more firmly secured. 
The many tracks crossing Cambridge Common 
are said to have confused Lord Percy, and he 
was at no small trouble before he could find 
anyone to tell him which road would lead him 
to Menotomy and Lexington. His column 
finally met the troops, returning from Concord, 
just east of Lexington, and history records that 
the relief came "just in time." 

On his retreat from Lexington Lord Percy 
did not pass through Harvard Square, for he 
realized that this time the "Great Bridge" 
would undoubtedly be so dismantled as to be 
impassable. He therefore directed his march 
to Charlestown Neck, and the running battle 
ebbed and flowed through Menotomy, which 
was still a part of Cambridge, and along the 
base of the Somerville hills to Charlestown. 
Percy was right, for the planking of the bridge 
had again been torn up and this time built 
into a strong redoubt on the Cambridge side, 
which was held by the militia arriving from 
the towns to the south and which would have 
completely blocked the progress of the British 
column. 

The Cambridge Trainband had been mus- 
tered before daybreak on that fateful day and 
apparently followed the first of the British 
■detachments nearly all the way to Concord 
and then joined in the running battle home 
again. Thomas Gardner had succeeded Gen- 
eral Brattle as the Colonel of the First Middle- 
sex Regiment, and Samuel Thatcher had 
succeeded Gardner as the Captain of the 
Cambridge Companj^ with John and Jotham 
Walton as his lieutenants. Seventy-seven 
men were enrolled in the company, Wyeths, 
Warlands, Reeds, Frosts, Prentices, Coxes, 
Hastings, Goddards, Boardmans, Bradishes, 
Moores and Hancocks. There was another 
company in that part of the town which is now 
Arlington commanded by Captain Benjamin 
Locke, and it, too, was actively engaged all day. 
It was in Menotomy that Percy's wagon train, 
which had been detained at the Great Bridge, 
and which was hurrving to overtake the march- 



ing column, was set upon by the older men who 
remained in the village and captured with its 
guard. It was in Menotomy and North 
Cambridge that the hottest fighting of that 
sultry April day took place. More than half 
of those on both sides who fell in the fighting 
were killed within what were then the bound- 
aries of Cambridge. All of the Cambridge men 
who fell were killed near Menotomy. Jason 
Winship and Jabez Wyman were two of the 
band of veterans who at midday had waylaid 
and captured the British wagon train. They 
were caught by the returning British in Cooper's 
Tavern at Menotomy Centre and killed. Ben- 
jamin and Rachel Cooper escaped into the 
cellar and hid till the troops had passed. 
Jason Russell, another old man and substantial 
farmer, lived just to the west of Menotomy 
village. The Danvers company came up just 
as the British approached and took post in 
Mr. Russell's house. There a number of them 
were caught between the main column march- 
ing down the road and a flanking party that 
came across the fields. Nine of the Danvers 
company were killed in the house and Mr. 
Russell was shot as he stood in his own door- 
way. Three of the men from Cambridge 
village were killed on Massachusetts Avenue 
just north of Spruce Street. John Hicks was 
one of an old Cambridge family and lived at 
the comer of Dunster and Winthrop Streets. 
He had been an active patriot, and tradition 
saj'S that he was one of the Boston Tea Party. 
Moses Richardson was a carpenter who lived 
where the Law School (Austin Hall) now 
stands. His military spirit was reborn in his 
great grandson, James P. Richardson, who 
organized and led the first company that en- 
listed for the Civil War. Both Hicks and 
Richardson were beyond the age of military 
service, so they had not marched with the 
younger men of the trainband, but they had 
taken their guns and followed. The third 
victim, William Marcy, was killed at the same 
time and place. He was apparently sitting 
on the fence looking on when he was shot. 
Hicks' son, a boy of fourteen, found the three 
bodies in the evening, and, procuring a wagon, 
brought them to the village graveyard for 
burial at the place where the monument to 
their honor now stands. 



82 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



There was no sleep in Cambridge or anywhere 
else in Massachusetts that night. North, 
west and south the messengers rode furiously 
spreading the news. Every village green saw 
the muster of the trainbands. Seizing their 
muskets and their powder horns the minute- 
men, without waiting for anything else, started 
for Cambridge. When the alarm reached 
Connecticut old Israel Putnam left his plow 
in the furrow and rode on one horse one hundred 
miles in eighteen hours. The New Hampshire 
companies were crossing the Merrimac on the 
evening of the twentieth, having nm rather 
than marched for twenty-seven miles. They 
halted at An- 
dover only long 
enough for a 
bit of bread 
and cheese, and, 
having trav- 
ersed fifty-seven 
miles in less 
than twenty 
hours, at sun- 
rise on the 
twenty -first 
they paraded 
o n Cambridge 
Common. With- 
in two days ten 
thousand men 
came pouring 
into Cambridge, 
and for weeks 
afterwards the 
numbers were 

augmented. General Heath, who had been 
conspicuous among the leaders on the 19th, 
directed them where to go, and made a 
general disposition of this loosely organized 
and primitive army. On the morning after 
the battle it was his foresight that provided 
for the needs of the men who came rushing in 
from every Massachusetts town and hamlet. 
Later he wrote in his Memoirs, " All the eatables 
in the town of Cambridge which could be 
spared, were collected for breakfast and the 
college kitchen and utensils procured for cook- 
ing. Some carcasses of beef, and pork, pre- 
pared for the Boston market, were obtained 
and a large quantity of ship bread, said to 




BRATTLE HOUSE 



belong to the British navy, was taken." The 
college buildings were at once occupied as 
barracks, and the college kitchen continued 
to be the center of the rude commissariat. 
The towns hastened to send ample supplies 
after their men, and there was never a time 
when this hastily improvised New England 
army was not abundantly fed. The flight 
of the Cambridge Tories made their houses 
and estates available for quarters. General 
Putnam got as near to the enemies' lines as 
he could by living at the Inman house. John 
Stark made a headquarters for the New 
Hampshire men at the Royall house in 

Medford. John 
Glover and his 
Essex Regiment 
occupied the 
Vassall house 
and grounds. 
The Committee 
of Safety and 
the Senior of the 
Massachusetts 
Major- Generals, 
Artemas Ward, 
accepted the 
hospitality of 
the Hastings 
house. With 
extraordinary 
rapidity the be- 
leaguering lines 
were drawn 
abotit Boston. 
1 1 was fifteen 
months after Concord and Lexington before 
a British army again took the open field. 

Sad was the fate that thus overtook with 
appalling suddenness the loyalist families of 
Cambridge. The booming of the guns at 
Lexington meant for them the signal to fly 
from their pleasant homes and seek safety 
behind the Boston lines. Practically the 
entire congregation of Christ Church departed, 
and, save for a few lay services held while 
Mrs. Washington was in Cambridge, the sound 
of prayer and praise was unheard within its 
walls for fifteen years. For a time it served 
as a barracks and then for years it stood 
deserted, its doors shattered and its windows 



THE SIEGE 



83 



broken, exposed to wind and rain and every 
sort of depredation. Most of the Tory mag- 
nates never saw their homes again. The 
Brattle house became the quarters of Major 
Thomas Mifflin, afterwards the President of 
Congress, while General Brattle accompanied 
the British army when they sailed away and 
died a broken-hearted old man at Halifax in 
the fall of 1776. His son, Thomas Brattle, 
was in Europe when the war broke out and 
was proscribed as an absentee. Later he 
returned to America, and in 1784 was finally 
permitted to come back to Cambridge and 
rehabilitate the old estate. He made the place 
the most beautiful for miles around and lived 
a quiet life among 
his flowers and his 
friends. He died un- 
married in ISOl, and 
with him ended the 
Brattle line. Thomas 
Oliver, the one-time 
Lieutenant-Governor, 
left Cambridge im- 
mediately after the 
uprising which had 
forced his resigna- 
tion on September 
2d, 1774, and never 
returned. He had 
never, indeed, been 
an active opponent 
of the patriotic senti- 
ment, for he was of 
mild and inoffensive 
temperament, but all 

his social connections were with the Tories. 
He went to England and died there in 
1815. His beautiful house at Elmwood was 
first occupied by Benedict Arnold and a 
Connecticut company, and later became a 
hospital for the besieging arm}-, and the 
woimded were brought there from Bunker 
Hill. Those who died were buried across the 
road opposite the house. Colonel David 
Phips also went to England and died there in 
ISll. His estate was confiscated and his 
house later became the residence of Professor 
John Winthrop. John Borland went into 
Boston as soon as the troubles began and was 
killed by accident there on the oth of Jvmc, 







WASHINGTON ELM 



1775. One of his sons entered the British 
army. His house, the "Bishop's Palace," was 
later used as a residence for General Burgoyne 
when he came as a prisoner to Cambridge, and 
was then for many years the homestead of Dr. 
Plympton. 

Judge Danforth and Judge Lee, the two 
Mandamiis Councillors who resigned at the 
behest of the people on September 2, 1774, 
were, like Oliver, Tories by social connection 
rather than by conviction. Judge Danforth 
was an old and respected citizen who had been 
a member of the Council by the choice of the 
Provincial Assembh^ for thirty-six years, and 
who made no greater mistake than to continue 

in his office when ap- 
pointed by the King 
instead of elected by 
the representatives of 
the people. He stayed 
in his house on the 
eastern side of 
Dimster Street, and, 
though imderstood to 
have royalist sym- 
pathies, was undis- 
turbed. Judge Lee 
went with his neigh- 
bors to Boston during 
the siege, but after- 
wards retiimed and 
took up his residence 
again in the old house 
on Brattle Street 
which is still known 
by his name. Ralph 
Inman also came back to his place after the 
evacuation of Boston and was unmolested, 
though both of his sons went to England and 
his daughter married Captain Linzce, who had 
commanded the frigate Falcon on the day of 
Bunker Hill. The Lechmere-Sewall estate and 
both the Vassall estates were confiscated after 
the hurried flight of their owners. Colonel John 
Vassall had no choice biit to cross the seas with 
his friends, and his mansion-house became the 
headquarters of the American army. Mrs. 
Henry Vassall went to Antigua, where the 
family still possessed considerable property, 
biit returned to die in Boston in 1800. Even 
her father, Isaac Royall, to whom hospitality 



84 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



was a passion, and who had won the affection 
of all around him, did not escape banishment 
and proscription. The Committee of Safety 
provided for the care and occupation of the 
confiscated estates, though not always without 
difficulty, for " the honest man's scythe refused 
to cut Tory grass, and his oxen to turn a Tory 
furrow." Isaac Royall's cherished wish was 
to be buried in Massachusetts; but even that 
boon was denied him. He died in England 
before the war was over, bequeathing two 
thousand acres of his neglected soil to endow 
a Chair of Law at Harvard. 

The besieging force which made its center 
at Cambridge was a heterogeneous gathering. 
The militia of the various provinces served 
under their own officers, but the different 
commanders speedily agreed to subordinate 
themselves to General Artemas Ward, as the 
head of the largest body of troops. He, how- 
ever, had no organized staff and very inade- 
quate means of communicating orders and 
receiving reports. If Gage had attacked he 
could have been opposed only by scattered 
regiments, and not by a united force. 

The size of the army was variable and tm- 
certain. On paper there were more than 
twenty thousand men; as a matter of fact 
there can seldom have been more than three 
quarters of that number. It was, further, an 
army of volunteers where every man owned 
his musket and cartridge box, clothed himself, 
and considered himself still, to a large extent, 
his own master. The men, who sprang to 
arms on the 19th of April, had not prepared 
themselves for a long campaign. They had 
left home on the run and in the next few days 
many of these men went back for the necessary 
arrangement of their affairs and for more 
clothing. The larger number of them returned 
to camp immediately, but others stayed away 
for a considerable time. Even those who 
joined the army after more preparation often 
had business that called them home, in which 
case they considered it a hardship to be denied, 
"especially when that business was haying." 
Nearly two months went by without any 
more active fighting than occasional skir- 
mishes as foraging parties met, or when Ameri- 
can detachments successfully carried off the 
sheep and stock from the islands in the harbor. 



By the 16th of June the time had come for an 
aggressive move. The Committee of Safety, 
consulting with the more prominent officers, 
decided to occupy the heights of Charlestown. 
Ward issued the necessary orders and in the 
dusk of evening fifteen Inmdred men under 
command of Colonel William Prescott paraded 
opposite the western door of the Hastings 
House. From the door, in his academic gown, 
came President Langdon of the college, and 
the prayer he offered stirred the hearts of all 
who listened. What Prescott and his men 
did that night and the next day on Bunker 
Hill is written large in American history. 
Nathanael Greene was right when he said that 
the colonists were ready to sell King George 
another hill at the same price. To Cambridge 
the chief event of that momentous day was 
the' loss of its military chief and first patriot 
citizen. Colonel Thomas Gardner. This able, 
zealous and courageous man had been the leader 
of the sentiment of the community throughout 
the years that foretokened the Revolution. 
He lived on the southern side of the river in 
what is now Allston. From 1769 until his 
death he was both selectman and the repre- 
sentative of Cambridge in the General Court 
and in the Provincial Congress.- He served 
on both the local Committee of Correspondence 
and on the Provincial Committee of Safety. 
He had been the captain of the Cambridge 
Compan}^ and was promoted to be Colonel 
when General Brattle adhered to the loyalist 
side. His high character, his popularity, the 
military skill which he had already displayed, 
his patriotic ardor, all promised for him a most 
distinguished career. It is probable that, 
had he lived, he would have ranked among 
the most conspicuous of the patriot soldiers 
of the Revolution. He led his regiment to 
Bunker Hill and was just entering the engage- 
ment when he fell mortally wounded. He 
was borne back to Cambridge, where he lingered 
for two weeks and died on the 3d of July, just 
as Washington was crossing the Common to 
take command of the army. 

The selection by the Continental Congress 
of a general-in-chief was an epoch-making act. 
John Hancock, the President of the Congress, 
was ambitious to secure this diffictdt and 
dangerous post, but John Adams was keen 



THE SIEGE 



85 



enough to perceive that the New England army 
could be knit together and its jealousies ap- 
peased only by the appointment of a general 
from another section. In military experience 
and ability, in strength and purity of char- 
acter, there was no American then living to be 
compared with George Washington of Vir- 
ginia. 

While others had been discussing and hesi- 
tating, Washington had long ago made up 
his mind that the quarrel with the king must 
come to violent disruption. At the second 
Continental Congress to which he was a dele- 
gate it was noticed that he attended the sit- 
tings in his uniform of a Virginia colonel. 
Though he took no part in the debates, he 
made himself felt, and his colleague, Patrick 
Henry, said of him: "If you speak of solid 
information and sound judgment, Colonel 
Washington is, imquestionably the greatest 
man on the floor." Debate ran high, but finally 
the Congress adopted the militia at Cambridge 
as a "Continental Army," appointed four 
major-generals: Lee, Schuyler, Ward and 
Putnam, and eight brigadiers; and on the 15th 
of June, two days before the Bunker Hill battle, 
chose Washington to be the commander-in-chief. 
Washington himself knew better than any 
man the consequences of the momentous step. 
On the 16th of June he accepted his commission, 
but added: "Lest some unlucky event should 
happen, tmfavorable to my reputation, I beg 
it to be remembered by every gentleman in 
the room, that I, this day, declare with the 
utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal 
to the command I am honored with. As to 
pay. Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress, 
that, as no pecuniary consideration could have 
tempted me to accept this arduous employ- 
ment, at the expense of my domestic ease and 
happiness, I do not wish to make any profit 
from it. I will keep an exact account of my 
expenses. These, I doubt not, they will dis- 
charge; and that is all I desire." 

On the .3d of July, a year and a day before 
the Declaration of Independence, Washington 
reached Cambridge and under the great elm 
still standing by the common, he took command 
of the army. He made his headquarters at 
first in the house of the president of the college 
(Wads worth House), but after a few weeks 



took possession of the beautiful mansion of 
Colonel Vassall. That house had always been 
the home of generous and gracious hospitality, 
an association which it has never lost. Wash- 
ington brought with him to Cambridge the 
Virginia traditions of ample living. He was 
himself a plain soldier, and a man, besides, of 
remarkable self-restraint. His moderation 
was seen in his early and regular hours and in 
his simple diet, which was sometimes nothing, 
we are told, but baked apples or berries with 
milk. It was, however, his habit to gather 
about him, at his headquarters, the officers 
of the army and the prominent visitors who 
for public or personal reasons made their way 
to the Cambridge camp. In December he 
was joined by Mrs. Washington and the two 
had here their last experience of home life 
for many long years. They maintained at 
the Vassall house a style of living which com- 
ported with the General's position. 

Almost all of the leaders of the Revolution 
who later won renown or shame were in Cam- 
bridge during the siege and constant visitors 
at headquarters. Hither from his vagrant 
wanderings over half the earth came Charles 
Lee, the second in command of the army. He 
was grotesque in appearance, satirical of speech 
and repulsive of cotmtenance, but the people 
believed in his ability and sincerity until he 
had proved both his incompetency and treach- 
ery. He came to Cambridge heralded as a 
military prodig3^ and though his insubordina- 
tion brought his boastful career to an end long 
before the war was over, the blackness of his 
treason was not known until after he and those 
he had tried to betray had long been dead. 
That other conspicuous traitor, Benedict 
Arnold, was daily at the Vassall house before 
he started on his Quebec expedition. His 
ability and reckless courage commended him 
to Washington. Had he only been so fortu- 
nate as to fall in his desperate charge at Still- 
water he would have ranked among the most 
valorous of otir patriot heroes. Horatio Gates, 
the vain, weak man who later tried to push 
Washington from his command, was the Ad- 
jutant-General of the army at Cambridge, and 
in constant contact with his chief. The laurels 
he wore, but did not win, at Saratoga, faded 



86 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



at Camden, and he passed out of our history 
into deserved obscurity. 

How marked was the contrast between these 
vainglorious but treacherous soldiers and the 
honest virtues of comrades in arms like Heath 
and Thomas of Massachusetts, Sullivan and 
Stark of New Hampshire, Richard Gridlcy 
and Rufus Putnam, the engineers. At the 
Vassall house Washington first met those 
tried and true companions of all his after 
career, Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox and 
Benjamin Lincoln. Greene led the Rhode 
Island troops. He was Quaker bred, thought- 
ful, resourceful and judicious. He had none 
of the meretricious brilliancy of men like 
Lee and Arnold, but he was able, loyal and 
reliable, and became his chief's right arm. 
Knox was a Boston bookseller who made him- 
self an expert artillerist and was later Wash- 
ington's first Secretary of War. It was Knox 
who, with dauntless perseverance, in the depth 
of the New England winter, dragged to Cam- 
bridge the cannon captured at Ticonderoga, 
and so made possible the occupation of Dor- 
chester Heights and the consequent evacuation 
of Boston. Two of those cannon now stand 
on Cambridge Common in front of the Soldiers' 
Monument. Benjamin Lincoln had been the 
secretary of the Massachusetts Provincial 
Congress. He was sound in judgment, in- 
dustrious and faithful. To him at Charleston 
it was given to win one of the noblest of achieve- 
ments, the preservation in defeat of the respect 
a,nd confidence of all good men. Twenty 
years later, when Washington was asked to 
describe the characteristics of the then living 
officers who might be considered for com- 
mander-in-chief in case of war, it was to Lincoln 
that he gave the highest praise, saying that 
he was "sensible, brave and honest." 

There were not lacking picturesque figures 
among the guests at headquarters. Israel 
Putnam was a better Indian fighter than he 
was disciplinarian, but his bluff, hearty ways 
and his resistless enthusiasm appealed to his 
men and he was easily the most popular leader 
in Cambridge. His manners and his vehement 
speech may not have always approved them- 
selves at the General's table, but Washington 
knew a man when he saw him and gave to the 
veteran his respect and confidence. Daniel 



Morgan, the stalwart Virginia wagoner, and 
his riflemen clad in fringed hunting shirts, 
lent a dramatic aspect to the camp, and Colonel 
Glover and his Marblehead fishermen had been 
at home at the Vassall house before it became 
the headquarters. Those same fishermen a 
few months later ferried the army over the 
East River after the disastrous battle on Long 
Island, and it was they who rowed and pushed 
through the floating ice in the Delaware the 
boats that bore Washington and his freezing 
regiments to the victory of Trenton. 

But it was not only the soldiers who walked 
the broad pathway to the door of the Vassall 
house. Hither, too, came the public men of 
the Colony, the members of the Committee 
of Safety, ami of the Provincial Congress 
sitting hard by in Watertown. The most 
noted company, however, that sat at Washing- 
ton's table was when in October a committee 
of Congress, consisting of Benjamin Franklin, 
Thomas Lynch of Carolina, and Colonel 
Harrison of Virginia, arrived to confer with 
the generals and with the New England leaders. 
We have a glimpse of a dinner party given 
to them, afforded by Dr. Belknap, who was a 
guest, and who wrote: "Lynch, Harrison, and 
Wales wished to see Boston in flames, but Lee 
told them it was impossible to btirn it unless 
they sent men in with bundles of straw on 
their backs to do it." Dr. Franklin apparently 
took no part in the debate, but we can imagine 
that no visitor would attract more attention 
than this renowned man, who sat and listened 
to whether his native town should be destroyed. 
He was sixty-nine years old at this time, twenty- 
six years older than the commanding general, 
and he was the most distinguished American 
then living. He had foreseen the impending 
conflict years before, and was able now to 
write to his friend Priestly in England, " Enough 
has happened, one would think, to convince 
your ministers that the Americans will fight, 
and that this is a harder nut to crack than they 
imagined." 

There was plenty of work to do inside and 
outside of headquarters. The raw militiamen 
were to be made into efficient soldiers. In the 
very face of the enemy an army had to be created 
and supplied, fortifications built, discipline 
enforced. "There is great overturning in 



THE SIEGE 



87 



camp," wrote the Reverend William Emerson. 
"New lords, new laws. The Generals Wash- 
ington and Lee are upon the lines every 
day. New orders from his Excellency are 
read to the respective regiments every morning 
after prayers. The strictest government is 
taking place, and great distinction is made 
between officers and soldiers. Every one is 
made to know his place, and keep in it. . . . 
Thousands are at work every day from foiir 
till eleven o'clock in the morning." 

The lines of the beleaguering forts were care- 



Frye, Bridge, Sargeant and Woodbridge, and 
General Pleath's brigade, consisting of his own 
regiment and those of Colonels Prescott, 
Patterson, Scammon, Gerrish and Phinney. 
The intrenchments began at the River at the 
foot of Putnam Avenue, or about where the 
Riverside Press now stands, and ran along 
the brow of Dana Hill until they connected 
with the redoubts on Prospect Hill in Somer- 
villc. Fort No. 1 was at the southern end of 
this line. Fort No. 2 was at what is now the 
corner of Ptitnam Avenue and Franklin Street. 




. ; i .. 11 \ 1.1. ( I : ; L 1. \\v M^ nut )l.i 



fully planned. The right wing of the arniy 
under General Ward, with General Spencer, 
and the best of the Massachusetts brigadiers, 
John Thomas, blocked the neck of the Boston 
peninsula and held the Roxbtiry forts. The 
lines stretched from Brookline to Dorchester. 
The left wing under General Lee was intrenched 
on the Somerville hills and along the Mystic 
with its outposts far out to the east. His two 
brigades were led by Greene and Siillivan. 
The center at Cambridge was commanded by 
General Putnam with his own Ijrigade, con- 
sisting of the regiments of Colonels Glover, 



Fort No. 'A was at Union Sqiiare in Somerville 
Roughly estimated, there were some 4,000 
men on the Roxbury lines, 7,000 more on 
Prospect, Winter, Plowed and Cobble Hills 
and north of the Mystic, and about 6,000 on 
the Cambridge lines. Of these a thousand or 
more found what must have been very close 
quarters in the college buildings. Many were 
in rude shelters on the Common or along the 
line of the intrenchments, and the rest found 
shelter in the houses and bams of the village 
or in tents in the pastures between the college 
and the low crest of Dana Hill. Two small 



88 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



batteries, one at Captain's Island and one at 
the next angle of the river commanded the 
approach to Cambridge by water. The latter 
of these was long preserved by the Dana 
family, and in 1858 it was restored at the joint 
expense of the City and the State and named 
Fort Washington. It stands as an interesting 
memorial of the siege and a curious reminder 
of the time when the Charles River was navi- 
gable by war vessels. 

Powder was fearfully scarce in the Cambridge 
camps. Very little of it was made in the colo- 
nies, and none at all in the neighborhood of 
Boston. More than once the army had but 
nine rounds to a man. On the twenty-fourth 
of Augu.st Washington wrote: "We have been 
in a terrible situation, occasioned by a mistake 
in a return: we reckoned upon three hundred 
quarter casks, and had but thirty-two barrels." 
Good muskets, too, were hard to get. The 
gunsmiths of Philadelphia, who had been ex- 
pected speedily to equip the army, were not able 
to supply guns with any rapidity, and Washing- 
ton had to pick them up, good, bad or indiffer- 
ent, wliercver he could. 

The progress of the siege of Boston was thus 
evidently predetermined by other causes than 
the courage of the soldiers or the skill of the 
opposing generals. General Gage did not dare 
make an aggressive campaign and General 
Washington could not. General Howe, on 
assuming the command of the troops in Boston 
early in October, wrote to the Earl of Dart- 
mouth: "The opening of a campaign from 
this quarter would be attended with great 
hazard, as well from the strength of the 
country as from the intrenched position which 
the rebels have taken, and from which they 
could not be forced without considerable loss 
on our part; and from the difficulty of access 
farther into the country they would have 
every advantage in the defence of it on their 
side, being indefatigable in raising field-works, 
which they judiciously suppose must wear 
us down by repeated onsets, whereas they are 
so numerous in this part of the country that 
they would not feel the loss they might sus- 
tain." These were very different views from 
those expressed in a letter written by a British 
officer eight months before: "What you hear 
about the rebels taking up arms is merely bully- 



ing. Whenever it comes to blows, he that runs 
the fastest will think himself best off. Believe 
me, any two regiments here ought to be deci- 
mated if they did not beat the whole force of 
Massachusetts Province." Hard experience 
had taught the Briti.sh commanders the con- 
viction that offensive operations in Massachu- 
setts were hopeless. This alone accounts for 
the fact that ten thousand British soldiers, 
admirably equipped and led, permitted fifteen 
thousand raw militia, without artillery or suffi- 
cient ammunition, to draw a net of intrench- 
ments around them without making an effort 
to break through the toils. 

On the other hand, it was impossible for 
Washington to make any assault. His soldiers 
were intelligent and full of faith in their cause; 
but they were not so much soldiers as the 
material out of which soldiers should be made. 
The term of enlistment was so brief that the 
army was perpetually changing, and was never 
all ready at one time. As Washington declared, 
never before had a siege like this been main- 
tained, when one army had been disbanded and 
another recruited within musket-shot of the 
enemy. As for cannon, not until Knox, with 
incredible labor, had dragged them from the 
shores of Lake George, and Captain Manly had 
captured the transport Nancy, filled with 
the guns and ammunition which the Americans 
needed, could there be said to be any proper 
train of artillery. 

Meanwhile, impatient patriots all over the 
country were wondering and complaining that 
Boston was not stormed or the commanding 
points about the town occupied. Criticism of 
the commander-in-chief was severe in Congress 
and in the newspapers. " I cannot stand 
justified," wrote Washington, "without ex- 
posing my own weakness, and injuring the 
cause by exposing my wants. If I did not 
consult the public good more than my own 
tranquillity, I should long ere this have put 
everything on the cast of a die." Twice during 
the siege he proposed to a council of generals, 
to attempt to take the town by assault, — once 
in September by boats, and once in February 
over the ice — but his own better judgment 
must have agreed with his officers that the feat 
was impossible. So, with the whole country 
full of great expectations, with his own impetu- 



THE SIEGE 



89 



ous nature chafing at the delay, Washington 
had to wait and patiently plan how to expel the 
enemy by less heroic means. 

The chief event of the early winter was the 
discovery of the treason of Dr. Benjamin 
Church, formerly a leader of the Boston patriots 
and now the chief medical officer of the army, 
with his quarters at the Henry Vassall house. 
From Newport there was brought by an Ameri- 
can patriot to whom it had been given by a 
woman from Cambridge, a letter which he had 
been requested to deliver to some officer of a 
British man-of-war stationed in Narragansett 
Bay. The American had opened the letter, 
and found it to be in cipher. This was sus- 
picious, and so he brought the letter to General 
Putnam who caused the woman to be arrested, 
and mounting her behind him on his horse, 
carried her to headquarters, where she named 
Dr. Church as the writer. The letter, when 
deciphered, proved to give information about 
the numbers and disposition of the American 
forces. 

The army and country, as Washington wrote, 
were "exceedingly irritated" at this revelation 
of treachery in a trusted leader. Abigail Adams 
was probably right when she wrote, "If he is 
set at liberty, even after he has received a severe 
punishment, I do not think he will be safe." 
Church was brought before the Massachusetts 
Provincial Congress and allowed to defend 
himself. He did not deny the authorship of 
the letter, but insisted that he was writing to 
his brother, and that he meant no harm. He 
was not believed, and was expelled from the 
Congress and the army. Later the Continental 
Congress ordered him to be imprisoned. Re- 
leased later, on account of his health, he was 



allowed to sail for the West Indies, and his vessel 
was never again heard from. 

As the winter passed, the pressing needs of 
the army were gradually supplied. "Officers" 
wrote the historian of the siege, "were slowly 
learning their duty; discipline was growing 
more finn and steady, and the whole anny was 
settling down into the habits of military Hfc. 
Every hill and projecting point from the Mystic 
River to Dorchester Neck had been made im- 
pregnable, stretching around Boston in a vast 
semicircle of redoubts and breastworks of fifteen 
or twenty miles in length, until at last — Knox's 
precious convoy of cannon and mortar arrived, 
the almost priceless stores of Manly's fortunate 
capttire transported to camp, and a moderate 
supply of powder gathered up — the decisive 
move was made." The first step was to plant 
a battery on Lechmere's PointfEast Cambridge). 
This was accomplished by General Heath under 
a heavy cannonade. Guns were planted 
which not only commanded the shipping in the 
river, but which threw their shells into Boston. 
"Then one moonlight, hazy night in March, 
while all along the line the artillery thundered 
to drown the noise of the movement, three 
thousand men, and three hundred ox-carts 
laden with bales of pressed hay, quietly stole 
across Dorchester Neck, and climbed the 
heights. All night, while the enemy slept, the 
men labored. General Howe woke to find 
the town, the harbor, the fleet, commanded 
by his adversary's guns." A few futile plans 
of attack, a few days of uncertainty, and then 
the hurried embarkation of the British and 
the siege was over. On the 17th of March 
the Americans marched in over the Neck and 
others, crossing by boats from Cambridge, 
landed at the foot of the Common. 



IX 

THE TOWN 



TH E tides of war ebbed away from 
Cambridge. The college teachers and 
students who had continued their work, 
first at Andover and then at Concord, returned. 
There was a great cleaning out of the college 
buildings and of the village houses so long 
occupied by the soldiers. The community did 
not, however, at once settle down into the old 
ways, for practically all the men of the town 
who were of military age were serving at one 
time or another in the Revolutionary army. 
Their leader was Captain Samuel Thatcher, 
who lived on the farm which had been tilled 
by three generations of his family, at what is 
now the comer of Mt. Auburn Street and 
Coolidge Avenue, and who succeeded Colonel 
Gardner in the command of the regiment in 
which most of the Cambridge men were en- 
listed. After the war Colonel Thatcher sold 
his farm and lived for the remainder of his 
life at the eastern corner of Mt. Auburn and 
Boylston Streets. He was selectman and 
representative, and a useful citizen. His son, 
Samuel, married the daughter of General Ivnox 
and went to Maine. He was a member of 
Congress and lived to be ninety-six years old, 
being at the time of his death the oldest graduate 
of Harvard. Another noteworthy Revolution- 
ary officer was Dr. Abraham Watson, Jr., the 
surgeon of Colonel Thatcher's regiment. He 
came of a family that had lived for four gen- 
erations on a farm in North Cambridge, cover- 
ing all the region from about where the railroad 
now runs northerly to Spruce Street. After 
the war Dr. Watson went to live in Littleton. 
His father was a tanner as well as a farmer, 
and began the tanning business which was 
long continued in North Cambridge. Many 
of the Watson stock were tanners, curriers, 
cordwainers, or followed other branches of the 
leather business. 

Among the Cambridge patriot soldiers there 
were three Adamses, four Barretts, four Board- 
mans, four Champneys, six Cooks, six Coolidges, 



five Cutters, four Danas, seven Frosts, three 
Hastingses, five Prentices, three Reads, three 
Russells, and four Whittemores. These arc 
all family stocks that are well represented in 
Cambridge today. The Boardmans, Cooks. 
Danas and Hastingses have already been men- 
tioned. The Adamses were one of the leading 
families in Menotomy. The Barretts were 
mechanics and lived on the east side of Dunster 
Street. The Champneys lived on the south 
side of the river where they had long been large 
landholders. The Coolidges were primarily 
a Watertown family, but a good many of them 
lived then, as now, within the boundaries of 
Cambridge. The Cutters were a very numer- 
ous clan, centering about Cutters Mill in 
Menotomy. On the gravestone of John Cutter, 
who was a fanner and deacon of the Menotomy 
Church, and died in 1776, it is recorded that 
he was survived by eight children, sixty-eight 
grandchildren, and one hundred and fifteen 
great-grandchildren. The Frosts were another 
very large family. The homestead was on the 
Charlestown road, which is now Kirkland Street, 
but different branches of the family had spread 
to North Cambridge and Menotomy. At the 
time of the Revolution the chief man of the 
family was Gideon Frost, the blacksmith and 
deacon of the Cambridge Church, who lived 
in the old house which is still standing on Lin- 
naean Street. The Prentices were even more 
numerous in Cambridge than the Cutters. 
The original homestead was on the eastern side 
of the Common, about where the Methodist 
Church now stands, and that place long re- 
mained in the family. Spreading from that 
homestead some of the Prentices established 
themselves on the Menotomy road, just above 
the present railroad bridge, others built on the 
westerly side of the Common, along what is 
now Mason Street; another branch took root 
in a farm adjoining the Oliver and the Thatcher 
places, or about at the junction of Mt. Aubvim 
Street and Elmwood Avenue. Still another 



THE TOWN 



91 



group of Prentices acquired the lands on what 
is now Garden Street toward Fresh Pond, and 
developed the brickmaking business, which has 
been carried on in that section ever since. 
These Prentices built their houses on Garden 
Street, where the Botanic Garden now is, and 
on the slope of the observatory hill opposite. 
The Reads established themselves in Cambridge 
early in the eighteenth century, and for three 
generations dealt in leather. The homestead 
was on the south side of Brattle Street, between 
the estate of General Brattle and the Henry 
Vassall place. In the third generation the 
family spread into houses on the opposite side 
of Brattle .Street. One of them is the house 
still standing at the comer of Brattle and Church 
Streets. In the fifth generation William Read 
acquired the large estate through which Apple- 
ton Street and Highland Street now run, and 
where the descendants of this serviceable family 
still live. The Russells were early settlers, for, 
in 1635, John Russell was living at the corner 
of Holyoke and Mt. Auburn Streets, and it 
was his son. Rev. John Russell, who was the 
protector of the Regicides in his parsonage at 
Hadley. In the later generations the Russells 
were chiefly identified with Menotomy and with 
Lexington, and we have seen how Jason Russell 
was killed on the 19th of Aijril, 1775. The 
Whittemores were also chiefly connected with 
Menotomy and Lexington. The Whittemore 
farms were along Alewife Brook and the road 
that now runs from Winter Hill to Arlington. 
Captain Samuel Whittemore was the chief 
revolutionary representative of the family. 
He had been for sixteen years a selectman of 
Cambridge, and when the war broke out was 
nearly eighty years old. With the utmost 
enthusiasm he joined in the Lexington battle. 
He was desperately wounded and left for dead, 
but recovered and lived to be ninety-six, with 
lixang descendants to the fifth generation and 
nimibering nearly two hundred. His nephew, 
another Samuel Whittemore, lived in Cam- 
bridge village on Boylston Street, and was for 
forty years deacon of the church. It shows 
the typically close connection of these old 
Cambridge families, when we read that the 
children of this Samuel Whittemore married 
respectively a Watson, an Angier, a Prentice 
and a Hastings. 



A curious episode of the Revolutionary time 
was the occupation of Cambridge by the troops 
that surrendered with General Burgoyne at 
Saratoga on October 17, 1777. Cambridge 
was selected as the place of their detention. 
Fortunately the district was under the com- 
mand of General Heath, and that efficient 
officer had sufficient notice to prepare for the 
coming of these unexpected visitors. The old 
barracks on the Somerville hills were put in 
order for the troops, and such quarters as could 
be obtained were provided for the officers in 
the Cambridge houses. General Burgoyne 
occupied the Borland house (the Bishop's 
Palace) and Baron Riedesel and his accom- 
plished wife lived in the Lechmere-Sewall 
house, whence the Baroness wTote the charm- 
ing letters and the journal which are the best 
original account of the northern campaign, 
and which contain pleasant descriptions of 
Cambridge and the life of the village. Bur- 
goyne left Cambridge in April, 1778, but some 
of the prisoners stayed until November, when 
they departed to Virginia to complete a chapter 
of our military annals which is by no means 
creditable to American good faith. 

The next visitors were of a very different 
kind. On September 1, 1779, there convened 
in the Cambridge meeting-house the delegates 
of all the Massachusetts towns who had gathered 
to frame a constitution for the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts. All the patriot leaders, 
save those who were serving in the Continental 
Congress or in the army, were there. The 
Cambridge representatives were Abraham 
Watson, Benjamin Cooper and Stephen Dana. 
The Con\'ention remained in session all winter, 
and finally adjourned in May, 1780. On May 
20th, the Cambridge town meeting ratified the 
Constitution. 

The next visitor was even more distinguished. 
On October 27, 1789, President Washington 
revisited the scenes of his first successes in com- 
mand of the army, and was given an honorary 
degree by the College. Dr. Joseph Willard 
had succeeded President Langdon in 1781, and 
it fell to him to express in the meeting-house 
the greeting of the College and the community. 
The stjde of his academic welcome was some- 
what more elaborate than would suit the taste 
of a later dav. but it ccrtainlv lacked nothing 



92 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



in ardent admiration and praise of the honored 
guest. After lauding the character and achieve- 
ments of Washington, President Willard said : 

"When you took the command of the tr6ops 
of your country, j^ou saw the University in a 
state of depression — its members dispersed — 
its literary treasures removed — and the Muses 
fled from the din of arms then heard within 
its walls. Happily restored, in the course of 
a few months, by your glorious successes, to 
its fonner privileges, and to a state of tran- 
quillity, it received its returning members, and 
our youth have since pursued without inter- 
ruption their literary courses, and fitted them- 
selves for usefulness in church and state. The 
public rooms, which you formerly saw empty, 
are now replenished with the necessary means 
of improving the human mind in literature and 
science; and everything within these walls 
wears the aspect of peace, so necessary to the 
cultivation of the liberal arts. While we exert 
ourselves, in our corporate capacity, to promote 
the great objects of this institution, we rest 
assured of your protection and patronage." 

Washington's replj^ was in a similar though 
simpler style. He entreated the President and 
Fellows to be persuaded of the respectful and 
affectionate consideration with which he received 
his degree. 

"Unacquainted," he said, "with the expres- 
sion of sentiments which I do not feel, you will 
do me justice by believing confidently in my 
disposition to promote the interests of science 
and true religion. 

"It gives me sincere satisfaction to learn 
the flourishing state of your literary republic — 
assured of its efficiency in the past events of 
our political system, and of its further influence 
on those means which make the best support 
of good government, I rejoice that the direc- 
tion of its measures is lodged with men whose 
approved knowledge, integrity and patriotism 
give an unquestionable assurance of their 
success." 

The next visitor came from over seas, but he 
found here the memories of his generous and 
ardent youth. Lafayette came in August, 
1824, and the scene is preser\'-ed for us by the 
accounts of many enthusiastic witnesses. He 
rode to Cambridge through cheering throngs, 
and President Kirkland, who excelled in just 



such functions, welcomed him on the steps of 
University Hall. Edward Everett was the 
orator of the day, and the splendid i^eroration 
of his speech has rolled from the lips of schoolboy 
dcclaimers ever since. "Above all, the first 
of heroes and of men, the friend of your youth, 
the more than friend of his country, rests in 
the bosom of the soil he redeemed. On the 
banks of the Potomac he lies in glory and peace. 
You will revisit the hospitable shades of Mount 
Vernon, but him whom you venerated, as we 
did, you will not meet at its door. His voice 
of consolation, which reached you in the Austrian 
dungeons, cannot break its silence to bid you 
welcome to his own roof; but the grateful 
children of America will bid you welcome in 
his name. Welcome, thrice welcome to our 
shores; and withersoever, throughout the limits 
of the continent, your course shall take you, the 
ear that hears you shall bless you, the eye that 
sees you shall bear witness to you, and every 
tongue exclaim, with heartfelt joy, 'Welcome, 
welcome, Lafayette.' " 

For many years after the exciting times of 
the Revolutionary epoch, Cambridge was a 
town with no especial distinction, save the 
scholastic atmosphere that hung about the 
College. The chief event of the closing years 
of the eighteenth and the opening years of the 
nineteenth centuries was the development of 
two new and almost distinct villages in the 
eastern part of the town. We have seen that 
the inhabited part of the town ended at Dana 
Hill. East of Judge Dana's house on the crest 
of the hill there were only the Inman house, 
near the present City Hall, and the old Phips 
famihouse on the upland of Lechmere's Point. 
All else was pasture, swamp and salt marsh. 
Tlic building of the West Boston Bridge altered 
the whole topography of the town. These 
changes were brought about chiefly through 
some interesting real estate speculations, in 
which certain new-comers to Cambridge were 
particularly actiA-e. When the estates of the 
departing Tories were sold, they were purchased 
by some men of large means and active minds, 
who were drawn to Cambridge, both by its 
attractions as a place of residence, and by the 
opportunity the place afforded for judicious 
investment. The Lcchmcre and Oliver estates 
were bought by Andrew Cabot of Salem, and 



THE TOWN 



93 



the Vassal estates by Nathanael Tracy of New- 

burj'port. The John Vassal house, which had 

been Washington's headquarters, passed, in 

1792, into the possession of Andrew Craigic, and 

in the same 

year the heirs 

of Ralph In- 

inan conveyed 

his estate to 

Leonard Jar\as. 

Meanwhile , 

Chief-Justice 

Francis Dana 

had acquired 

very large hold- 
ings of land and 

marsh along 

the Charles 

River, from 

the village to 

where the river 

widened into 

the Back Bay. 

His estate and 

the estate of 

Mr. Jarvis cov- 
ered practically 
all of what 

became Cam- 
bridgeport. 
In like man- 
ner, what is 
now East Cam- 
bridge came 
into the hands 
of two owners. 
The Phips fami 
had been di- 
vided among 
the children of 
Lieutenant - 
Governor 
Phips; but be- 
fore the war 
David Lech- 
mere, the hus- 
band of one of 
the daughters, 
had bought the shares of the others, with the 
exception of that owned by Mrs. Andrew Board- 
man. The Boardinans were patriots, but the 



Lechmercs, like all the rest of the Phips con- 
nection, were Tories. The Lechmcre estate 
was confiscated and was bought, as we have 
seen, by Andrew Cabot. Through several trans- 
fers it passed 
to Andrew 
Craigie, who 
t h u s owned 
about five- 
sixths of the 
whole region 
known as Lech- 
mere's Point, 
while the 
Board mans 
retained title 
to the south- 
westerly part 
of the old 
Phips farm, 
which reached 
to the bound- 
aries of the 
Jarvis estate. 
It was natu- 
ral that these 
gentlemen, 
Messrs. Dana, 
Jarvis, Craigie 
and Boardman, 
should thus 
become much 
interested in 
the develop- 
ment o'f the 
eastern part 
of the town. 

For a hun- 
dred and thirty 
>• e a r s the 
"Great Bridge" 
at the foot of 
Boylston Street 
had been the 
only means of 
getting across 
the river, ex- 
" cept by boat. 

On March 9, 1792, Judge Dana and sundry 
associates were incorporated as the "Proprie- 
tors of West Boston Bridge," with authority 




94 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



to build a toll bridge from the westeriy part 
of Boston to Pelham's Island in the town of 
Cambridge. The toll franchise was to run 
for forty years, and from the tolls the pro- 
prietors were required to pay three hundred 
pounds a year to Harvard College. The bridge 
was at once constructed, together with a cause- 
way over the marshes, as far as the present 
Lafayette Square, where it connected with the 
slightly higher ground known as Pelham's 
Island. The bridge was opened for travel on 
November 23, 1793. It required a complete 
readjustment of the roads. Until this time the 



later extended it from the Common to the new 
bridge, along what is now Broadway. The 
other built the Middlesex turnpike, of which 
the eastern end leading to the bridge is the 
present Hampshire Street. Houses, stores 
and taverns began to spring up along the cause- 
way and on the streets, as they were laid out 
below Central Square. The big estates were 
gradually divided off into lots ; and Judge Dana 
and Mr. Jarvis built a substantial dike along 
the marshes where the river bent to the north- 
east, thus reclaiming a considerable section of 
low-lying land. Ambitious plans were made 




1!'"^ ipij ';tiiti.!iii!ii!i;iffi^.ii!«iii:i, \i*\ftmasmBi^^^mm\imi 






"VIEW OF THE COLLEGES AT CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS" 

1795 



old roads, one running from Charlestown Neck 
to Watertown, and the other from the Great 
Bridge to Menotomy and crossing on the Com- 
mon, had remained the highways. Now a new 
set of roads came into being. Main Street and 
Massachusetts Avenue continued the new 
causeway to Harvard Square; and radiating 
from this highway were River Street and West- 
em Avenue to the southwest, and Hampshire 
Street and Medford Street (now Webster Ave- 
nue) to the northwest. Two turnpike com- 
panies were incorporated. One built the road 
to Concord, which is now Concord Avenue, and 



for transforming the river-bank into a com- 
mercial port. Docks and canals were dug out 
of the salt marsh, and, in 1805, Cambridge was 
made a port of entry. Then came reverses. 
Mr. Jarvis became financially involved, and 
his property was long in litigation, so that it 
had to be withdrawn from sale. Mr. Board- 
man, however, in 1801, brought his large hold- 
ings into the market by laying out Windsor 
Street through his land, thus giving it a con- 
nection with the bridge and the fast-growing 
village of Cambridgeport. The Jar^ds estate 
was sold at auction, and Mr. Jonathan L. 



THE TOWN 



95 



Austin, who bought the old luman mansion, 
opened Austin Street. From this time the 
building went on rapidl)-, though Judge Dana 
retained all the older part of his estate, so that 
between Hancock iStreet and the College Yard 
there remained a large district without houses, 
and Cambridgeport was a distinct and separate 
village. The effort to make it a commercial 
center ran against the Embargo Act of 1808 
and the War of 1812. The commerce of the 
whole country was paralyzed, and most of the 
promoters of the port of Cambridge were brought 
to bankruptcy. Of all the docks constructed 



be genuine, must have in it some sentiment of 
the sea, — it was this instinct that printed the 
device of the pine-tree on the old money and 
the old flag, — and these periodic ventures of 
the sloop Harvard made the old Viking fibre 
vibrate in the hearts of all the village boys. . . . 
All our shingle vessels were shaped and rigged 
by her, who was our glass of naval fashion and 
our mould of aquatic form. We had a secret 
and wild delight in believing that she carried 
a gun, and imagined her sending grape and 
canister among the treacherous savages of 
Oldtown. Inspired by her were those first 




Fisher, I'inxt. 



AQDin & Smith, Sc 



'SOUTH VIEW OF THE SEVERAL H.ALLS OK H.4RV.ARD COLLEGE- 



by the various companies only Broad Canal 
remains. 

"Cambridge," wrote Lowell of the town as 
it was in 1824, "has long had its port, but the 
greater part of its maritime trade was, thirty 
years ago, intrusted to a single Argo, the sloop 
Harvard, which belonged to the College, and 
made annual voyages to that vague Orient 
known as Down East, bringing back the wood 
that, in those days, gave to winter life at Har- 
vard a crackle and a cheerfulness, for the loss 
of which the greater wannth of anthracite 
hardly compensates. New England life, to 



essays at navigation on the Winthrop duck- 
pond, of the plucky boy who was afterwards 
to serve two famous years before the mast. 

"The greater part of what is now Cambridge- 
port was then (in the native dialect) a 'huckle- 
berry pastur.' Woods were not wanting on 
its outskirts, of pine, and oak, and maple, and 
the rarer tupelo with downward limbs. Its 
veins did not draw their blood from the quiet 
old heart of the village, but it had a distinct 
being of its own, and was rather a great caravan- 
sary than a suburb. The chief feature of the 
place was its inns, of which there were five, with 



96 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



vast barns and court-\-ards, which the railroad 
was to make as silent and deserted as the palaces 
of Nimroud. Great white-topped wagons, 
each drawn by double files of six or eight horses, 
with its dusty bucket swinging from the hinder 
axle, and its grim bull-dog trotting silent tmdcr- 
neath, or in midsummer panting on the lofty 
perch beside the driver (how elevated thither 
baffled conjecture), brought all the wares and 
products of the countr\^ to their mart and sea- 
port in Boston. These filled the inn-yards, or 
were ranged side by side under broad-roofed 
sheds, and far into the night the mirth of their 
lusty drivers clamored from the red-curtained 
bar-room, while the single lantern, swaying to 
and fro in the black cavern of the stables, made 
a Rembrandt of the group of ostlers and horses 
below. There were, besides the taverns, some 
huge square stores where groceries were sold, 
some houses, by whom or why inhabited was 
to us boys a problem, and, on the edge of the 
marsh, a currier's shop, where, at high tide, on 
a floating platfonn, men were always beating 
skins in a way to remind one of Don Quixote's 
fulling mills." 

The development of East Cambridge was 
chiefly the work of Mr. Andrew Craigie, who 
for ten or twelve j-ears was most assiduous and 
successful in securing title to large tracts, and 
obtaining from the General Court the authority 
to build another bridge. His speculation turned 
out very well. It has been estimated that the 
land and franchises, which were quietly secured, 
and often in the names of relatives or associates, 
did riot cost Mr. Craigie more than twenty 
thousand dollars. In 1808 he organized a stock 
company, and, reserving enough land for the 
bridge, its approaches and toll house, he dis- 
posed of the rest of the estate at a price of three 
hundred and sixty thousand dollars. The next 
year the Craigie Bridge was built, and roads 
and approaches constructed, of which the chief 
was the present Cambridge Street, which con- 
nected the bridge with Cambridge Common 
and the country beyond. In 1810 the stock 
company was incorporated as the Lechmere 
Point Corporation, lots were surveyed and the 
streets of East Cambridge laid out. The sales 
were, however, unsatisfactory, and in the first 
three years only ten lots were sold. Then the 
Corporation offered to give to Middlesex County 



a whole square and a half of land, and to build 
a County Courthouse and jail at an expense 
of twenty-four thousand dollars, if the county 
would use and occupy the buildings. The 
town of Cambridge protested against the re- 
moval of the courthouse from Harvard Square, 
but the offer was too munificent a one to be 
resisted. The buildings were erected, and the 
courts began to be held in East Cambridge in 
1816. This ingenious plan worked well for 
the company, and when the Boston Porcelain 
and Glass Company bought another large tract 
and built its factories, the success of the specu- 
lation was assured. Other industries followed, 
and the population of East Cambridge rapidly 
increased. The proprietors of the two new 
bridges entered into a lively competition. Each 
party endeavored to secure the opening of streets 
which would scrv^e as approaches to its own 
bridge, and to block the similar efforts of the 
other party. These rivalries kept the town 
meetings in a turmoil for a score of years. 

Meanwhile the older part of the town saw 
but little change. The Cambridge of the first 
half of the nineteenth century was a good place 
to be bom in, as Lowell and Holmes and Dana 
and Higginson have testified; and it was surely 
good to live in the place where Kirkland and 
Everett and Quincy ruled the academic world, 
where Longfellow came to write his poetry, and 
Palfrey his history, and Sparks his biographies; 
where Washington Allston painted and Margaret 
Fuller dreamed. 

"Cambridge," wrote Lowell in his Fireside 
Travels, "was still (1824) a country village 
with its own habits and traditions, not yet 
feeling too strongly the force of suburban gravi- 
tation. Approaching it from the west, by what 
was then called the New Road (Mt. Auburn 
Street), you would pause on the brow of Sy- 
mond's Hill to enjoy a view singularly soothing 
and placid. In front of you lay the town, 
tufted with elms, lindens and horse-chestnuts, 
which had seen Massachusetts a colony, and 
were fortunately unable to emigrate with Tories, 
by whom, or by whose fathers, they were 
planted. Over it rose the noisy belfry of the 
College, the square, brown tower of the Epis- 
copal Chiu-ch, and the slim, yellow spire of the 
parish meeting-house. On yotu" right, the 
Charles slipped smoothly through green and 



THE TOWN 



97 



purple salt meadows, darkened here and there 
with the blossoming black grass as with a 
stranded cloud-shadow. To your left upon 
the Old Road (Brattle Street) you saw some 
half-dozen dignified old houses of the colonial 
time, all comfortably fronting southward. . . . 
We called it 'The Village' then, and it was 
essentially an English village — quiet, unspecu- 
lative, without enterprise, sufficing to itself, 
and only showing such differences from the 
original types as the public school and the sys- 
tem of town government might superinduce. 
A few houses, chiefly old, stood around the bare 
common, with ample elbow-room; and old 
women, capped and spectacled, still peered 
through the same windows from which they had 
watched Lord Percy's artillery rumble by to 
Lexington, or caught a glimpse of the handsome 
Virginia general who had come to wield our 
homespun Saxon chivalry. The hooks were 
to be seen from which had swung the hammocks 
of Bixrgoyne's captive red-coats. If memory 
does not deceive me, women still washed clothes 
in the town spring, clear as that of Bandalusia. 
One coach sufficed for all the travel to the 
metropolis." 

Lowell saw the development of Cambridge 
from the idyllic village of his boyhood into a 
great suburban city bustling with many activ- 
ities. So rapid was the change that Lowell, on 
his return from Eurpoe in 1889, wrote: 

"I feel somehow as if Charon had ferried me 
the wrong way, and yet it is into a world of 
ghosts that he has brought me. I hardly know 
the old road, a street now, that I have paced 
so many years, for the new houses. My old 
homestead seems to have a puzzled look in its 
eyes as it looks down — a trifie superciliously 
me thinks — on these upstarts." 

Colonel Higginson, in describing the Cam- 
bridge of the first half of the nineteenth century, 
took as his text the familiar sketch of Harvard 
Square in 1822. "It seems at first sight," he 
wrote, "to have absolutely nothing in common 
with the Harvard Square of the present day, 
but to belong rather to some small hamlet of 
western Massachusetts. Yet it recalls with 
instantaneous vividness the scenes of my youth, 
and is the very spot through which Holmes, 
and Lowell, and Richard Dana, and Story the 
sculptor, and Margaret Fuller Ossoli, walked 



daily to the post-office, or weekly to the church. 
The sketch was taken in the year before my 
own birth, but remained essentially unchanged 
for ten years thereafter, the population of the 
whole town having increased only from 3,295 
in 1820, to 6,072 in 1830. The trees on the 
right overshadowed the quaint barber's shop 
of Marcus Recmie, crammed with quaint curi- 
osities; and also a building occupied by the 
law professor, its angle still represented by that 
of College House. The trees on the left were 
planted by my own father, as were nearly all 
the trees in the college yard, he being then the 
newly appointed steward — now rechristened 
bursar — of the college, and doing, as Dr. Pea- 
body has told us, the larger part of the treas- 
urer's duties. On the left, beyond the trees, 
stood the First Parish Church, with its then 
undivided congregation, its weathercock high 
in air, its seats within each lifted by a hinge, 
and refreshing every child by its bang and rattle 
when dropped after prayer time. In the center 
was the little Market House, which once gave 
the name of 'the Market Place' to what was 
later called, in my memory, 'the village.' 

"The only larger building fully visible in the 
sketch is the only one of these yet remaining, 
having survived its good looks, if it ever had 
any, and very nearly survived its usefulness. 
The rooms now occupied as the waiting-room 
of the West End Railway (Boston Elevated) 
were then the bar-room and rear parlor of the 
Cambridge hotel; the two rooms being con- 
nected by a sliding panel, through which the 
host thrust any potations demanded by the 
guests in the parlor. There was held, in the 
rear room, I remember, a moderately convivial 
'spread' in 1840, given by the speakers at an 
' exhibition, ' — a sort of intermediate Commence- 
ment Day, long since discontinued, — in which 
I, as the orator of the day, was supposed to take 
a leading part, although in fact I only con- 
tributed towards the singing, the speaking, and 
the payment of the bills. 

"It is hard to convey an impression of the 
smallness of the then Cambridge in all its parts 
and the fewness of its houses. The house in 
which I was bom, in 1823, and which had been 
built by my father, was that at the head of 
Kirkland Street, then Professors' Row, — the 
house now occupied by Mrs. F. C. Batchelder. 



98 



A HLSTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



The field opposite, now covered largely by 
Memorial Hall, was then an open common, 
where I remember to have seen students climb- 
ing or swinging on Dr. Charles Pollen's outdoor 
gymnastic apparatus; or perhaps forming to 
trot away with him at double-quick, their hands 
clenched at their sides, across the country. The 
rest of the Delta was covered with apple-trees 
whose fruit we boys used to discharge at one 
another from pointed sticks. Looking down 
Professors' Row we could see but four houses, 
the open road then proceeding to Somerville. 
On Quincy Street there was no house between 
Professors' Row and Broadway, and we used 



old houses of Tory Row and one or two late 
additions. On the south side of Brattle Street 
there was not a house from Hawthorn Street 
to Elmwood Avenue; all was meadow-land and 
orchards. Mt. Auburn Street was merely 
'the back road to Mount Auburn,' with a 
delightful bathing place at Simond's Hill, be- 
hind what is now the hospital, — an eminence 
afterwards carted away by the city and now 
utterly vanished. Just behind it was a delicious 
nook, still indicated liy one or two lingering 
trees, which we named 'The Bower of Bliss,' 
at a time when the older boys, Lowell and Story, 
had begun to read and declaim to us from 




APPLETON CHAPEL 



to play in what was said to be an old Indian 
cornfield, where the New Church Theological 
School now stands. Between Quincy Street 
and Cambridgeport lay an unbroken stretch 
of woods and open fields, and the streets were 
called 'roads,' — the Craigie Road and the Clark 
Road, now Harvard Street and Broadway, each 
with one house on what was already called 
Dana Hill. Going north from my father's 
house, there were near it the Holmes House 
and one or two smaller houses; up 'the Concord 
Road,' now Massachusetts Avenue, there were 
but few; the Common was unfenced until 
1830; up Brattle Street there were only the 



Spenser's 'Faerie Queene.' The old willows 
(now at the corner of Mt. Auburn Street and 
the Parlcway) were an equally favorite play- 
place; we stopped there on our return from 
bathing, or botanizing, or butterflying and 
lay beneath the trees." 

The meeting-house, in the time thus described, 
was still the town center. The sixty-seven 
years of the pastorate of Dr. Appleton came 
to an end in 1784, when he died, at the age of 
ninety-one. A few months before his death 
Rev. Timothy Hilliard was settled as his col- 
league and successor. Mr. Hilliard died in 
1790, and two years later began the long and 



THE TOWN 



99 



eventful pastorate of Dr. Abiel Holmes. The 
church members south of the river had been 
set off as a separate Parish in 1783, and settled 
the first minister in what became the town of 
Brighton in the next year. In 1805, the Cam- 
bridgeport Meeting-House Corporation was 
organized, which later built its church on 
Columbia Street, and, in 1814, ordained the 
first minister, Rev. Thomas Brattle Gannett. 
The Parish included all of the town east of the 
line of Dana Street, running from the river on 
the south to the Somerville boundary on the 
north. In 1814, also, the College Church was 



present corner of Matthews Hall, was the Col- 
lege fire-engine house, before it was moved 
across the Square. Behind the church, stand- 
ing where it now stands, was the President's, 
or Wadsworth House, erected in 1726. To the 
eastward stood the two old houses heretofore 
described, but now owned by the College and 
rented to Professor Ware and to Professor Hedge. 
The house on the corner of Quincy vStreet, later 
occupied by Dr. A. P. Peabody and now by 
Professor Palmer, was built in 1811, and was 
occupied at first by members of the family of 
Judge Dana. On the opposite side of the main 




THE PEADODY MUSEUM 



formed; and in 1829, came the division of the 
First Church itself. The more conservative 
part of the congregation, being a minority of 
the Parish but a majority of the Church, with- 
drew and organized the Shepard Congrega- 
tional Society, of which Dr. Holmes became 
the minister. The First Parish settled Rev. 
William Newell, and, in 1833, built a new meet- 
ing-house which is still standing opposite the 
College gate. The old house was removed, and 
the site included in the College Yard. 

Next the old meeting-house, in the time of 
which Lowell and Higginson wrote, near the 



street still stood the Bishop's Palace and the 
Phips-Winthrop House. Owen's University 
Book Store was on the corner of Holyoke Street. 
In the College Yard, the second and present 
Stoughton Hall had been built in 1804, and 
Holworthy Hall, in 1812. University Hall, 
called at the time the "handsomest building 
in the State," had been built in 1815 — its archi- 
tect being the famous Charles Bulfinch. In its 
basement was the College Kitchen. The ground 
floor had two dining-rooms, one used by seniors 
and sophomores, the other by freshmen and 
juniors. In the second and third stories was 



100 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASvSACHUSETTS 



the College Chapel, ^^^th seats on one side for 
the seniors and sophomores, and on the other 
for juniors and freshmen, and with different 
entrance doors, "so that there might be no 
hostile collision on the stairs," says Dr. Peabody. 
"In front of the pulpit was a stage for public 
declamations and exhibitions, and on each side 
of it a raised sentrj^-box, occupied at daily 
prayers by a professor or tutor on the watch 
for misdemeanors. Opposite the pulpit was 
the organ with a double row of raised seats on 
each side — one for the choir, the other for 
parietal officers and graduates. There were 



lower story were the jihilosophical and physical 
chamber and apparatus, and the mineralogical 
cabinet. Holden Chapel, then divided into 
two stories, contained in its lower floor the 
chemical laboratory and lecture-room, and 
above, a lecture-room. 

"In my time," wrote Dr. Peabody, who 
graduated in 1826, "a student's room was 
remarkable chiefly for what it did not have, — 
for the absence of all appliances of elegance 
and comfort, I might almost say, of all tokens 
of civilization. The feather-bed — mattresses 
not having come into general use^ — was regarded 




GORE LIBRARY (THE COLLEGE LIBRARY) 



two side galleries for families of the professors." 
In the second story, at the southern end, were 
two rooms for the use of the Corporation; and 
at the northern end and in the third story, were 
six recitation rooms. Originally there was a 
roofed piazza on the front of the building, which 
was later removed to check the "grouping" 
of students, then a penal offence. 

The older buildings, Massachusetts and 
Hollis Halls, were donnitories, having thirty- 
two rooms each, the lower floors being reserved 
for freshmen. Harvard Hall contained the 
College Library in its second story; and in the 



as a valuable chattel; but ten dollars would 
have been a fair auction-price for all the other 
contents of an average room, which were a pine 
bedstead, washstand, table and desk, a cheap 
rocking-chair, and from two to four other chairs 
of the plainest fashion, the bed furnishing seats 
when more were needed. I doubt whether any 
fellow-student of mine owned a carpet. A 
second-hand furniture dealer had a few defaced 
and threadbare carpets, which he leased at an 
extravagant price to certain Southern members 
of the senior class ; but even Southerners, though 
reputed to be fabulously rich, did not aspire to 



THE TOWN 



101 



this kixur}' till the senior year. Coal was just 
coming into use, and had hardly found its way 
into college. The students' rooms — several 
of the recitation rooms as well — were heated 
b}^ open wood-fires. Almost every room had, 
too, among its transmittcnda, a cannon-ball, 
supposed to have been derived from the arsenal, 
which on very cold days was heated to a red 
heat, and placed as a calorific radiant on a 
skillet, or on some extcmi^orizcd metallic stand; 
while at other seasons it was often utilized by 
being rolled downstairs at such time as might 
most nearly bisect a proctor's night-sleep. 
Friction matches — according to Faradav the 



tations, including the remaining half of the 
students. Then came breakfast, which, in the 
college commons, consisted solely of coffee, 
hot rolls and butter, except when the members 
of a mess had succeeded in pinning to the nether 
surface of the table, by a two-pronged fork, 
some slices of meat from the previous day's 
dinner. Between ten and twelve every student 
attended another recitation or a lecture. Dinner 
was at half-past tweh'c, — a meal not deficient 
in quantity, but by no means appetizing to 
those who had come from neat homes and well- 
ordered tables. There was another recitation 
in the afternoon, except on Saturday; then 




UNIVERSITY HALL 



most useful invention of our age — were not yet. 
Coals were carefully buried in ashes over night 
to start the morning fire; while in summer, as 
I have elsewhere said, the evening-lamp could 
be lighted only by the awkward, and often 
baffling, process of 'striking fire' with flint, 
steel, and tinder-box. 

"The student's life was hard. Morning 
prayers were in summer at six; in winter, about 
half an hour before sunrise in a bitterly cold 
chapel. Thence half of each class passed into the 
several recitation rooms in the same building 
(University Hall), and three-quarters of an 
hour later the bell rang for a second set of reci- 



evening prayers at six, or in \^ inter at early 
twihght; then the evening meal, plain as the 
breakfast, with tea instead of coffee, and cold 
bread, of the consistency of wool, for the hot 
rolls." 

Across Harvard Square from the ]Mecting- 
house, and on the comer of Dunster Street, 
stood Willard's Hotel, where the pubHc booked 
for places in the hourly stage for Boston — fare 
twentj'-five cents — or for Cambridgeport — fare 
eighteen and three-quarters cents. "At nine 
and two o'clock, Morse, the stage-driver, drew 
up in the College Yard and performed upon a 
tin horn to notifv us of his arrival. Those who 



102 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



went to Boston in the evening were generally 
forced to walk. It was possible, to be sure, to 
hire a chaise of Jeremy Reed, yet his horses 
were expensive animals, and he was very par- 
ticular in satisfying himself of the undoubted 
credit of those to whom he let them," wrote 
Josiah Quincy of the Class of 1821, in his 
"Figures of the Past," and Dr. Peabody speaks 
of "that dreary walk to Cambridge in dense 
darkness, with no lights on our way, except 
dim oil lamps at the toll-houses, over a road 
believed to be infested with footpads, but on 
which we neither met nor passed a human being 
between the bridge and the College Yard. In- 
deed . . . the 
roads then 
were so lonely 
that we used 
to make up 
parties of four 
or five to at- 
tend meetings 
or lectures in 
Boston." 

On the cor- 
ner of Boyls- 
ton Street 
stood Deacon 
Levi Farwell's 
country store. 
On the west 
side of Har- 
vard Square 
stood the old 
County Court 
House (on the 
present site of 

the Harvard Co-operative Society), a square, 
wooden building with a cupola, "where," as 
Lowell wrote, " Parsons once laid down the law, 
and Ames and Dexter showed their skill in the 
fence of argument. Times have changed, and 
manners, since Chief-Justice Dana (father of 
Richard the First and grandfather of Richard 
the Second) caused to be arrested for conteinpt 
of court, a butcher who had come in without a 
coat to witness the administration of his coun- 
try's laws, and who thus had his curiosity exem- 
plarily gratified. Times have changed since the 
cellar beneath it was tenanted by the twin 
brothers Snow. Ovstermen were thev indeed. 




:;v-!;v 



OLD COURT HOUSE 



silent in their subterranean burrow, and taking 
the ebbs and flows of custom with vivalvian 
serenity. Careless of the months with an R in 
them, the maxim of Snow (for we knew them 
but as a unit) was 'When 'ysters are good, they 
are good; and when they ain't, they isn't.' " 
The old Court House, though abandoned for 
court purposes in 1816, when the Court moved 
to East Cambridge, continued to be used for 
town meetings until 1831. 

North of the Court House, there was a garden, 
and then an old, two-storv', wooden dwelling, 
with a gambrel roof, much after the style of 
Wadsworth house. It had been occupied by 

Professor Sam- 
uel Webber, 
who succeeded 
Dr. Willard as 
President of 
the College in 
1806, at the 
tiine when he 
was Professor 
of Mathemat- 
ics and Natural 
Philosophy. 
Next to this 
was a long 
structure 
called the 
Smith House; 
and on its site 
a little later, 
and farther 
back from the 
street, was a 
small one-story 
building which sheltered the College fire-engine. 
About on the location of the present Church 
Street, was College House No. 1, a wooden 
three-story building with brick ends, long called 
by the students " Wiswall's Den." It contained 
twelve rooms, and these, together with the rooms 
in College House No. 2, were occupied by law 
students and undergraduates who could not 
get rooms in the Yard, and, says Dr. Peabody, 
"in great part by certain ancient resident gradu- 
ates who had become waterlogged on their life 
voyage, by preachers who could not find willing 
listeners, by men lingering on the threshold of 
professions for which they had neither the 



THE TOWN 



103 



courage nor capacity." Next the graveyard 
(where the First Parish Church now stands) 
was the Manning House; and next the Deacon 
Kidder House, both owned and rented by the 
College, and both torn down when Ihc church 
was built in 1833. 

In the middle of what is now Harvard Square 
stood the town pump and scales, and the market- 
house, a small square one-story building, which 
was removed about 1830. Great elms lined 
both sides of the Square. In the middle of the 
Square stood also that old milestone, long 
located, after 1830, in front of Dane Hall, and 
now in the old graveyard, bearing the apparently 
lying legend, "8 miles to Boston A.D. 1737." 
It is hard to remember that the road to Boston, 
prior to 1793, was over the Boylston Street 
Bridge, through Brookline to Roxbury, and 
over the Neck up Washington Street to the old 
State House on State Street. 

West of Brattle Square (where Brattle Hall 
now is) was the town spring, and a good-sized 
pond with an island, and the handsome grounds 
of the Brattle place which extended to the river. 
In the 50's the pond was filled up; and a large, 
square, ugly hotel, known as the Brattle House, 
was built on its site, later purchased by the Law 
School for a dormitory, and still later sold to 
John Wilson's University Press. 

Walking out Brattle Street, where once "the 
red-coated, rapiered figures of Vassall, Lech- 
mere, Oliver and Brattle creaked up and down 
on red-heeled shoes, lifting the ceremonious, 
three-cornered hat, and offering the fugacious 
hospitalities of the snuff-box," one passed the 
old Tory mansions standing in unchanged 
dignity. The Henry Vassal house was occupied 
by Bossenger Foster, the brother-in-law of 
Andrew Craigie, and froni his heirs Mr. Samuel 
Batchelder bought it in 1841. The John Vassall 
house, after a brief occupancy by Mr. Nathanael 
Tracy, became the home of Mr. Craigie. Like 
so many of the promoters of the new villages of 
Cambridgeport and East Cambridge, Mr. 
Craigie fell on evil days and became seriously 
embarrassed. He had to part with all but some 
eight acres of the estate, and it is said for seven 
years before his death, in 1821, that he never 
came out of his house except on Sundays, for 
fear of arrest. Mrs. Craigie let rooms in the 
famous old house to Harvard students, among 



them Edward Everett and Jared Sparks, and 
later to the young professor, Henr>' W. Long- 
fellow. It is related that one day Mr. Long- 
fellow found Mrs. Craigie sitting by an open 
window through which innumerable canker- 
womis were crawHng and festooning themselves 
on her dress and turban. Longfellow offered 
to remove or destroy the invaders but was met 
with the rebuke, "Young man, have not our 
fellow-wonns as good a right to live as we?" 

Beyond, in the Fayerweather house, lived 
Mr. William Wells, who kept there a school 
which had a wide-spread influence and reputa- 
tion. Mr. Wells had been a publisher and 
bookseller in Boston, and was the author of 
various useful Latin text-books. In 1826, his 
store and stock were destroyed by fire at a 
time when the insurance had just expired. 
During his business career he had never ceased 
to carry on the classical teaching which he had 
Ijcgun as a tutor in the College. He bought 
the Fayerweather house and opened a school, 
first for boys, and later for girls. After his 
active days were over, Mr. Wells continued 
to live, until his death in 1860, in the family 
of his daughter, who was the wife of Rev. 
William Newell, the beloved minister of the 
First Parish Church, and from whose children 
the fine old house was bought by its present 
owners. 

At the end of the old Tory Row, in the Oliver 
mansion, lived the most distinguished citizen 
of Cambridge. Elbridge Gerry, the Vice- 
President of the United States, bought Elm- 
wood and the adjoining Thatcher farm in 1793. 
Mr. Gerry was a Democrat living in a Federalist 
stronghold at a time of hot political feeling, 
but, whatever may have been the political 
differences, there is no evidence that the Cam- 
bridge people treated their fellow-citizen with 
anything but the respect due to his office. Dr. 
Charles Lowell, the beloved and honored minis- 
ter of the West Church in Boston, bought Elm- 
wood in 1817, and there, in 1819, his son, James 
Russell Lowell, was bom. 

Returning toward the Common one passed 
at the corner of Mason and Garden Streets 
where the Shepard Congregational Church 
now stands, the house of Deacon Moore, and 
opposite, in the house which is now the Fay 
House of Radcliff College, lived Joseph McKean, 



104 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory, and five 
years later, in 1822, Edward Everett. In the 
northwest room of that house, in 1836, Rev. 
Samuel Oilman, of Charleston, while a guest at 
the celebration of the two hundredth anniver- 
sary of the College, wrote "Fair Harvard." On 
the north side of the Common, on what is now 
Watcrhouse Street, lived William Ware, the 
author of "Zenobia," and the famous physician, 
Dr. Waterhouse. He was the first American 
physician to practise inoculation for small-pox. 
Lowell's graphic pen pictures him for us as he 
walked abroad with his "queue slender and 
tapering, like the tail of a violet crab, held out 
horizontally by the high collar of his shepherd's- 
gray overcoat, whose style was of the latest 
when he studied at Leyden in his hot youth. 
The age of cheap clothes sees no more of those 
faithful old garments, as proper to their wearers, 
and as distinctive as the barks of trees, and by 
long use interpenetrated with their verj' nature. 
. . . The great collar disallowing any inde- 
pendent rotation of the head, I remember he 
used to turn his whole person in order to bring 
the foci of his great spectacles to bear upon any 
object. One can fancy that terrified Nature 
would have yielded up her secrets at once, with- 
out cross-examination, at their first glare. 
Through them he had gazed fondly into the 
great mare's-nest of Junius, publishing his 
observations upon the eggs found therein in a 
tall octavo. It was he who introduced vaccina- 
tion to this Western World. Malicious persons 
disputing his claim to this distinction, he pub- 
lished this advertisement: 'Lost, a gold snuff- 
box, with the inscription, "The Jenner of the 
Old World to the Jenner of the New." Who- 
ever shall return the same to Dr. Waterhouse 
shall be suitably rewarded.' It was never 
returned. Would the search after it have been 
as fruitless as that of the alchemist after his 
equally imaginary gold? Malicious persons 
persisted in believing the box as visionary as 
the claim it was meant to buttress with a sem- 
blance of reality. He used to stop and say good- 
morning kindly, and pat the shoulder of the 
blushing school-boy who now, with the fierce 
snowstorms wildering without, sits and remem- 
bers sadly those old meetings and partings in 
the June sunshine." 

Crossing the bare, wdndswept Common, one 



came, on Holmes Place, to four old houses. In 
one lived Cabel Gannett, who succeeded Mr. 
Hastings as the College Steward, and who had 
married Ruth Stiles, whose elder sister was the 
first wife of Dr. Abiel Holmes. There was bom, 
in 1801, Ezra Stiles Gannett, afterwards for 
forty-seven years the minister of the Arlington 
Street Church, in Boston. The Hastings house, 
which had been General Ward's headquarters, 
came, in 1807, into the possession of Judge 
Oliver Wendell, and there his grandson, and 
the son of the Rev. Abiel Holmes, was bom in 
1809, and christened Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
The house may be taken as typical of the better 
houses of the village, and Dr. Holmes' descrip- 
tion of his birthplace is classical. 

"The worst of a modem stylish mansion," 
he wrote, "is, that it has no place for ghosts. 
Now the old house had wainscots, behind which 
the mice were always scampering and squeaking 
and rattling down the plaster, and enacting 
family scenes and parlor theatricals. It had 
a cellar where the cold slug clung to the walls, 
and the misanthropic spider withdrew from the 
garish day; where the green mould loved to 
grow, and the long white potato-shoots went 
feeling along the floor, if haply they might find 
the daylight; it had great brick pillars, always 
in a cold sweat with holding up the burden they 
had been aching under day and night for a 
century and more; it had sepulchral arches 
closed by rough doors that hung on hinges 
rotten with rust, behind which doors, if there 
was not a heap of bones connected with a mys- 
terious disappearance of long ago, there well 
might have been, for it was the place to look 
for them. It had a garret, very nearly such a 
one as it seems to me one of us has described 
in one of his books; but let us look at this one 
as I can reproduce it from memory. It has a 
flooring of laths with ridges of mortar squeezed 
up between them, which if you tread on you 
will go to — the Lord have mercy on you! where 
will you go to? and the same being crossed by 
narrow bridges of boards, on which you may 
put your feet, but with fear and trembling. 
Above you and around you are beams and 
joists, on some of which you may see, when the 
light is let in, the marks of the conchoidal clip- 
pings of the broad-axe, showing the rude way 
in which the timber was shaped as it came, full 



THE TOWN 



105 



of sap, from the neighboring; forest. It is a 
realm of darkness and thick dust, and shroud- 
like cobwebs and dead things they wrap in 
their gray folds. For a garret is like a sea- 
shore, where wrecks are thrown up and slowly 
go to pieces. There is the cradle which the 
old man you just remember was rocked in; 
there is the ruin of the bedstead he died on; 
that ugly slanting contrivance used to be put 
under his pillow in the days when his breath 
came hard ; there is his old chair with both amis 
gone, sjanbol of the desolate time when he had 
nothing earthly left to lean on ; there is the large 
wooden reel which the blear-eyed old deacon 
sent the minister's lady, who thanked him 
graciously, and twirled it smilingly, and in 
fitting season bowed it out decently to the limbo 
of troublesome conveniences. 

"The southeast chamber was the Library 
Hospital. Even,' scholar should have a book 
infirmary attached to his library. There should 
find a peaceable refuge the many books, invalids 
from their birth, which are sent 'with the best 
regards of the Author;' the respected but un- 
presentable cripples which have lost a cover; 
the odd volumes of honored sets which go 
mourning all their days for their lost brother; 
the school-books which have been so often the 
subjects of assault and battery, that they look 
as if the police court must know them by heart ; 
these, and still more the pictured story-books, 
beginning with Mother Goose (which a dear 
old friend of mine has just been amusing his 
philosophic leisure with turning most ingen- 
iously and happily into the tongues of Virgil 
and Homer), will be precious mementos by 
and by, when children and grandchildren come 
along. 

" Let us go down to the ground floor. I should 
have begun with this, but that the historical 
reminiscences of the old house have been recently 
told in a most interesting memoir by a distin- 
guished student of our local history. I retain 
my doubts about those 'dents' on the floor of 
the right-hand room, 'the study' of successive 
occupants, said to have been made by the butts 
of the Continental militia's firelocks, but this 
was the cause the stor}- told me in childhood 
laid them to. That military consultations 
were held in that room, when the house was 
General Ward's headquarters, that the Provin- 



cial generals and colonels and other men of 
war there planned the movement which ended 
in the fortifying of Bunker's Hill, that Warren 
slept in the house the night before the battle, 
that President Langdon went forth from the 
western door and prayed for God's blessing on 
the men just setting forth on their bloody ex- 
pedition, — all these things have been told, and 
perhaps none of them need be doubted. 

"It was a great happiness to have been bom 
in an old house haunted by such recollections, 
with hannless ghosts walking its corridors, 
with fields of waving grass and trees and singing 
birds, and that vast territory of four or five 
acres around it to give a child the sense that 
he was bom to a noble principality." 

Walking out what is now Kirkland Street, 
one passed the houses of what was known as 
"Professors' Row." First came the house of 
Stephen Higginson where, in 1823, his son, 
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, was bom. 
Stephen Higginson had succeeded Mr. Gannett 
as College Steward, and is described as a man 
who "was both before and after his time,— 
before it in the warmth of his s\Tnpathy and 
breadth of his abiHty; behind it, in the courtli- 
ness and refinement which belonged to the bom 
aristocracy." 

Beyond the Higginson house, and extending 
to the Charlestown line, were the one hundred 
and twenty acres of the Foxcroft estate on which 
stood the house of James Hayward, Professor 
of Mathematics; of Professor Asahel Steams, 
the first teacher of law in the Harvard Law 
School ; and of John Farrar, Professor of Natural 
Philosophy from 1807 to 1836. Professor 
Farrar was, wrote one of his students, "the 
most eloquent man to whom I ever listened. . . . 
His were the only exercises at which there was 
no need of a roll-call. No student was willingly 
absent." The last house in "Professors' Row" 
was that of Dr. Henry Ware, Holhs Professor 
of Divinity. Tradition declares that he was 
generally known by the students as "general 
scope," from the frequency with which that 
phrase recurred in his lectures. It is also alleged 
that the students were inclined to impugn his 
honesty, because in conversation and sermon 
he so often introduced a sentence by saying 
" I am not a-ware." 

Two remarkable people made their home at 



106 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



the other end of the town, but were intimately 
associated with the College circle. Margaret 
Fuller was a singular product of the Cambridge 
soil. Her father, Timothy Fuller, was one of 
the first to buy land in Cambridgeport, and 
established his homestead there. He was a 
member of Congress from 1817 to 1825. His 
famous daughter, Margaret, was born in Cam- 
bridgeport, in 1810 — the first of a family of eight 
children. Her father took entire charge of her 
education, which was adapted to a precocious 
child, and Dr. Frederick H. Hedge wrote of her, 
that when she was thirteen years old she passed 
for a mature woman. 
"She had," he said, "in 
conversation at that 
early age begun to dis- 
tinguish herself and 
made much the same 
impression in society 
that she did in after 
years." She wrote her 
own description of her 
life in Cambridge at the 
age of fifteen, which was 
probably not in accord- 
ance with the usual rule 
of Cambridge famiHes. 
Her day was occupied 
as follows: she rose be- 
fore five, walked an hour, 
practised at the piano 
until seven, breakfasted 
and read French at eight, 
read Brown's Philosophy 
(two or three lectures) 
until half-past nine, went 
to school and studied 

Greek until f twelve, recited, went home and 
practised until two, read two hours in Italian, 
walked or rode and spent her evenings with 
music or friends. Certainly she ought to have 
been one of the learned women of her genera- 
tion. "In our evening reunions," said Dr. 
Hedge, "she was conspicuous by the brilliancy 
of her wit, which needed but little provocation 
to break forth in exuberant sallies, that drew 
around her a knot of listeners and made her the 
central attraction of the hour. Rarely did she 
enter a company in which she was not a proini- 
nent object. . . . For some reason or other 




MARCAKEr FULLER 



she could never deliver herself in print as she 
did with her lips." Margaret Fuller left Cam- 
bridgcjjort when she was twenty-three years 
old, when her family removed to Groton. Her 
after career as a woman of letters and the friend 
and associate of Emerson, Channing and the 
Transccndcntalists was that, as Colonel Hig- 
ginson said, of "a person whose career is more 
interesting than that of any other American of 
her sex; a woman whose aims were high and 
whose services great; one whose intellect was 
uncommon, whose activity was incessant, whose 
life varied and whose death dramatic." 

The famous painter, 
Washington Allston, also 
lived in Cambridgeport. 
His pictures are still the 
proud possession of many 
an old New England 
family, and during his 
lifetime he was easily 
the most admired of 
American artists. A 
man with so genuine an 
artistic temperament and 
spirit, and with so rich 
a sense of form and color, 
was another curious 
product of the Puritan 
environment of Cam- 
bridge. "If," wrote 
Lowell, "it were surpris- 
ing that Allston should 
have become a painter 
at all, how almost mirac- 
ulous that he should have 
been a great and original 
one! I call him original 
deliberately, because, though his school be essen- 
tially Italian, it is of less consequence where a 
man buys his tools, than what use he makes of 
them. Enough English artists went to Italy 
and came back painting history in a very Anglo- 
Saxon manner, and creating a school as melo- 
dramatic as the French, without its perfection 
in technicalities. But Allston carried thither a 
nature open on the southern side, and brought 
it back so steeped in rich Italian sunshine that 
the cast winds (whether physical or intellectual) 
of Boston, and the dusts of Cambridgeport as- 
sailed it in vain. To that bare wooden studio 



THE TOWN 



107 



one might go to breathe Venetian air, and, better 
yet, the very spirit wherein the elder lirothers of 
Art labored, ethercaHzcd by metaphysical specu- 
lation, and sublimed by religious fervor. The 
beautiful old man! Here was genius with no 
volcanic explosions (the mechanic result of 



wagon running on wheels, and when turned 
over was a boat to be propelled by oars. This 
odd vehicle was dubbed "The Amphibium," 
though the Cambridge boys, mindful of the 
peculiarities of the enthusiastic leader of the 
expedition, called it "The Natwyethum." In 



vulgar gunpowder often), but lovely as a Lap- order to toughen themselves for the hardships 

of their journey, the adventurers, clad in uni- 
fonn and with broad belts which carried axe, 
knife and bayonet, went into camp for ten days 
on one of the islands in Boston harbor. Then 

they set out on 



land night; here was fame, not sought after 
nor worn in any cheap French fashion as a 
ribbon at the button-hole, but so gentle, so 
retiring, that it seemed no more than an assured 
and embold- 
ened modesty ; 
here was ambi- 
tion, undebased 
by rivalry and 
incapable of the 
side-long look; 
and all these 
massed and 
hannonized to- 
gether into a 
purity and 
depth of char- 
acter, into a 
tone , which 
made the daily 
life of the man 
the greatest 
masterpiece of 
the aritst." 

Another 
Cambridge 
worthy of a 
very different 
type, but who 
well deserves 
remembrance, 
was Captain 
Nathanael F. 

Wyeth, the leader of a party of Cambridge 
young men who struck the Oregon trail in 
the spring of the year 1832. Wyeth and his 
two brothers, James and Jacob, and nearly 
a score of comrades, inspired by the tales of 
adventure among the Indians and the wild 
beasts of the far northwest, formed an emi- 
grant and hunting company with the purpose 
of going overland to the northwest coast. 
For their long and untried journey they built 
a curious conveyance, which one side up was a 




WA.SHINGTO.N .^LLSTON 



their overland 
march, drag- 
ging the Am- 
phibium across 
the hills, and 
using it as a 
ferry for them- 
selves and their 
goods across 
the rivers. In 
fifty days they 
accomplished 
the march to 
St. Louis, and 
there they 
abandoned 
their curious 
vehicle and 
went on by 
^^ steamer up the 
Missouri River 
to I n d e p e n - 
dence. They 
were fortunate 
enough to fall 
in with some 
experienced 
guides and 
traders wh(j knew the passes over the moun- 
tains; and on the 4th of July they drank 
the nation's health from the water of the 
Snake River, which flows to the Columbia 
and the Pacific. On the river they established 
Fort Hall, which passed later into the hands 
of the Hudson Bay Company and became 
an important station for the emigrant trains 
that later made their way to Oregon and 
California. Wyeth's enterprise was short- 
lived, and he and his brothers came back to 



^^ 



108 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



take up their old life in Cambridge. They 
could not accomplish anything in the face of 
the well-established monopoly of the Hudson 
Bay Company throughout the Northwest; but 
the expedition not: only revealed the survival 
of the pioneer quality of an old Cambridge stock, 
but as a genuine American attempt at coloniza- 
tion and settlement in the Northwest it played 
its part in the negotiations and treaties which 
finally made the great region, which is now 
Oregon and Washington, a part of the United 
States. 

But the distinctive atmosphere of the Cam- 
bridge of the first half of the nineteenth centiury 
was that made by the presence of the College. 
The academic habit of thought and life, which 
characterized so many of 
the leading citizens, made 
Cambridge differ from other 
or neighboring towns. It 
was not only the natural 
place for Lowell and Holmes 
and Margaret Fuller to be 
born in, and for Longfellow 
and Allston to make their 
homes in, but the everyday 
life of the College people, 
the ways of thinking and 
talking, their interests and 
their characteristic union 
of simplicity and refine- 
ment, limited means and 
scholarly jjursuits, plain 
living and high thinking, 
gave a unique chann to 
the old village. Kirkland 
and Quincy ruled the College world 
duties of the President had changed since 
the days of the earlier leaders, when their 
task was described with sufficient accuracy as 
"thankless labor, unrequited service, arrearages 
unpaid, posthumous applause, a doggerel dirge 
and a Latin epitaph." President Kirkland was, 
according to Longfellow, "a jolly little man." 
He came to the presidency from the pulpit of 
the New South Church in Boston, and brought 
with him the reputation of a man of broad 
culture, of social charm, and of remarkable 
gifts as a preacher. He had, too, a kindly wit 
which enlivened his practical wisdom. When 
someone called on him for advice about a church 




president Krrkland 



The 



quarrel over the dogma of ' ' the perseverance of 
the saints," he replied: "Here in Boston we 
have no difficulty on that score; what troubles 
us here is the perseverance of the sinners." 
Lowell gives a pleasant account of him: "This 
life was good enough for him, and the next not 
too good. The gentlemanlike pervaded even 
his prayers. His were not the manners of a 
man of the world, nor of a man of the other 
world either; but both met in him to balance 
each other in a beautiful equilibrium. Praying, 
he leaned forward upon the pulpit-cushion, as 
for conversation, and seemed to feel himself 
(without irreverence) on terms of friendly, but 
courteous familiarity with heaven." He knew 
well how to deal with undergraduates. "Hear- 
ing that Porter's flip 
(which was exemplary) 
had too great an attraction 
for the collegians, he re- 
solved to investigate the 
matter himself. Accord- 
ingly, entering the old inn 
one day, he called for a 
mug of it, and having drunk 
it, said, 'And so, Mr. Porter, 
the young gentlemen come 
to drink your flip, do 
they?' 'Yes, sir, — some- 
times.' 'Ah, well, I should 
think they would. Good 
day, Mr. Porter,' and de- 
parted saying nothing 
more." 

"On Sundays," wrote 
Dr. Pea body, "Dr. 
Kirkland generally preached once, — in the after- 
noon, if I rememb:?r aright; and his sermons 
were listened to with interest and admiration, 
and that rather for the structure, meaning, and 
point of each successive sentence, than for any 
continuous course of thought or reasoning. He 
preached almost always on the ethics of daily 
life ; and his sennons were made up for the most 
part of epigrammatic, proverb-like utterances, 
gems of the purest lustre, alike in diction and 
in significance, but, if not unstnmg, strtmg on 
so fine a thread that only he could see it. In- 
deed, we had a strong suspicion that his sermons 
were put together on the spot. He used to 
carry into the pulpit a pile of loose leaves, from 



THE TOWN 



109 



which he was visibly employed in making a 
selection during the singing of the hymns. I 
doubt whether he often, if ever, wrote a whole 
sermon after he came to Cambridge. The law 
that underlies the arithmetical rule of ' permuta- 
tion and combination,' gave him, in a limited 
number of detached leaves, an unlimited number 
of potential sennons. His voice was pleasant 
and musical; his manner in the pulpit, grave 
and dignified; but it was commonly quite evi- 
dent that he felt less interest in his preaching 
than his hearers did." 

When a stroke of paralysis obliged Dr. Kirk- 
land to retire while still in the prime of life, it 
was desirable that his successor should be a man 
of administrative experience and acquainted 
with the management of financial interests. 
Josiah Quincy was a man of distinguished 
lineage, and of unquestioned courage and 
ability. He had been a prominent member of 
the Massachusetts Legislature, a judge of the 
Municipal Court, a member of Congress and 
mayor of Boston, and became, as one of his 
successors. Dr. Walker, said of him, "the great 
organizer of the University." During his 
administration the fast-growing library was 
housed in Gore Hall; Dane Hall was built for 
the Law School; the Astronomical Observatory 
was established, first in the Dana House at the 
corner of Quincy and Harvard Streets, and later 
on the Concord Avenue hill, where it now stands. 
He reformed the state of the College Commons, 
cleansed the Commencement season of rowdy- 
ism, systematized the courses of study, and 
filled the life of the expanding University with 
his characteristic vigor. In his intercourse with 
people, Mr. Quincy lacked the consummate 
tact that had distinguished Dr. Kirkland. He 
could not remember names, and when a student 
— someone sent for but a few minutes before, 
came into his office, it was to be met with the 
abrupt question, "What's your name'" So 
much was this his habit that if, as occasionally 
happened, he did recognize a face, he would prob- 
ably say, "Well, Brown, what's your name?" 
Rev. Artemas B. Muzzey, the longtime minister 
of the Cambridgeport Parish, recalled in his 
Reminiscences how "an extraordinary energy 
pervaded the whole character and life of Mr. 
Quincy; whatever his hand found to do he did 
with his might. This trait was seen in his 



emphatic mode of conversation. I often no- 
ticed a reaction of this intensity. He would 
express himself with great clearness and force, 
and, notwithstanding he was a thorough 
gentleman and full of courtesy, he would in 
a few moments — even while one perhaps was 
responding to his words — from the power of 
his temperament, be sometimes lost in ob- 
livion, and, seeming unable to resist the 
tendency, even close his eyes as if overtaken 
by sleep. 

"To this pccuhar temperament, I think, was 
owing in part his occasional lapse of memory. 
He often forgot the names of those he knew 
perfectly well, even of college students, whom 
he wished si:)ecially to address aright. The 
story was told, probably without a sure founda- 
tion, that he went one day to the Cambridge 
post-office for his mail, and, upon his asking 
if there were any letters for him, the clerk, being 
that day a newcomer in the office, asked, 'For 
what name, sir?' 'For what name,' Mr. Quincy 
replied, 'you know me of course.' In his ab- 
sence of mind, as the story went, he for the 
moment actually forgot his own name. Turning 
away he was met by a friend who thus accosted 
him: 'Good-morning, Mr. Quincy.' 'Ah, 
Quincy,' said he, retiuning to the clerk, 'are 
there any letters for Mr. Quincy?' I think 
those who had known and enjoyed the benefit 
of the remarkable memory for names of his 
predecessor. Dr. Kirkland, liked to repeat, and 
would sometimes exaggerate, anecdotes of this 
kind. 

"The industry of this rare man was as remark- 
able as his intellect and eminent virtues. I 
remember in a conversation upon the dangers 
and evils of the prevalent excessive reading of 
newspapers, he once said : ' For myself, I devote 
but ten minutes a day to the papers.' Perhaps 
this will appear to many a meagre allotment 
of time for such reading. But it reveals that 
mar\-ellous economy of time which enabled him 
not only to read so many solid books, but to 
write volume upon \"olume himself, in addition 
to his practical labors, as a lawyer and as a 
business man, the discharge of his manifold 
offices as representative in the State and 
National Legislatures, on the bench as mayor, 
for six years of a rapidly-growing city, for six- 
teen years as president of Harvard College, 



110 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



besides working elsewhere in the cause of edu- 
cation, and in many other distinguished and 
useful occupations." 

Mr. Quincy lived to be the oldest graduate 
of the College, and sat for his photograph with 
his four successors in office, Everett, Sparks, 
Walker and Felton. He retained to his ninety- 
second year his keen interest in all College 
affairs, and wrote its history, a book which found 
its origin in the oration which Mr. Quincy 
delivered in 1836, on the occasion of the two 



of the Law School. The Dane Professorship 
of Law was founded with the condition that the 
first occupant of the chair should be Judge 
Story, then at the height of his fame as a justice 
of the Supreme Court. It was not altogether 
an inviting opportunity, for the Law School 
had no building, a very small library, and during 
the year before his appointment, not a single 
student. The fame of the great judge soon 
changed that discouraging situation, and so 
interesting were the lectures that the students 



w^r ^f 1^^ 






Tix^^m,. W^ 


^"'^^.:^^- - - 
^\\ k 






^^^^^^^^■pfe^. 


^i^^^^^^-_ "■■' 1^^^^^'m ^^^1 


^^^■fl 



PRESIDENTS OF H.XRVARD UNIVERSITY 



JOSIAH QlJINCy, 
1829-1S45 



Edward Everett 
1S46-1849 



Jared Si'ARk.s 
1S49-1.S53 



James Walker 
1853-1.SG(I 



CoRNELiu.s C. Felton 
1860-1802 



hundredth anniversary of the founding of the 
College. 

Of the College professors who gave to Cam- 
bridge its distinctive atmosphere, there were 
many who bore names famous outside of the 
academic world. George Ticknor, Henn,- Wads- 
worth Longfellow and James Russell Lowell 
served successively as Professors of Belles- 
Lettres; Norton, Palfrey, Willard, Noyes and 
Francis were upbuilding the Divinity School, 
and Joseph Stor>' was la>-ing the foundations 



were willing to give up their holidaj-s for the 
sake of attending. Richard H. Dana, just 
back from his famous "Two Years Before the 
Mast," was one of the students. He wrote: 
' ' At the close of a tenn there was one more case 
than there was an afternoon to hear it in, unless 
we took Saturday. Judge Story said: 'Gentle- 
men, the only time we can hear this case is 
Saturday afternoon. No one is obliged or 
expected to attend. I am to hold Court in 
Boston until two o'clock. I will ride directly 



THE TOWN 



111 



out, take a hasty dinner, and be here by half- 
past three o'clock, and hear the case, if you are 
willing.' He looked round the school for a 
reply. We felt ashamed, in our own business, 
where we were alone interested, to be outdone 
in zeal and labor by this aged and distinguished 
man, to whom the case was but child's play, a 
tale twice told, and who was himself pressed 
down by almost incredible labours. The pro- 
posal was unanimousi}' accepted. The judge 
was on the spot at the hour, the school was never 
more full, and he .sat until late in the evening, 
hardly a man leaving the room." 

Among the law students in 1838 was Lowell. 
"I am reading Blackstone," he wrote, "with as 
good a grace and as few wry faces as I may." 
Eight months later he could write more cheer- 
fully. "I begin to like the law. And therefore 
it is quite interesting. I am detennined that 
I will like it. and therefore I do." On Story's 
death, in 1845, the school numbered one hundred 
and sixty-five students, who had flocked to his 
teaching, not only from New England, but from 
almost every State in the Union. 

Daring the sixteen years in which he filled 
the chair Judge Story wrote all of his legal text- 
books and his treatises, filling no less than thir- 
teen volumes. He lived in the house on Brattle 
Street which is still standing near to the comer 
of the street which bears his name. "With fully 
two men's stated work," wrote Dr. Peabody, 
"he had time for every good -cause and worthy 
enterprise. There was no public meeting for 
a needed charity, for educational interests, in 
behalf of art or letters, or for the advancement 
of a conservatively liberal theology, in which 
his advocacy was not an essential part of the 
programme. When there were no other speakers 
of note, it was enough to hear him; and he was 
not unwilling to occupy, and never failed to fill 
to the delight of his hearers, all the time that 
could be given him. When there were others 
whom it was desirable to hear, he was generally 
made chainnan; and in his opening speech he 
always contrived to say as much as all those 
who followed him, and often unconsciously took 
the wind out of their sails. He formed a large 
part of the life of Cambridge society. His son 
is the only other man that I have ever known 
who could talk almost continuously for several 
successive hours, and leave his hearers with an 



appetite for more. Wherever Judge Story was, 
he did not usurp the conversation, but the floor 
was spontaneously and gladly conceded to him; 
and his listeners were entertained vnth an unin- 
termitted flow of wit, humor, anecdote, literary 
criticism, comments on passing events, talk on 
the highest themes of thought, — the transition 
from topic to topic never abrupt, but always 
natural and graceful. . . . Judge Story was a 
good citizen of Cambridge, and took an active 
part in all important mimicipal affairs. No man 
did more than he in securing for Cambridge 
the right to enclose the Common, in opposition 
to the towns lying farther in the interior, which 
claimed as of immemorial prescription the un- 
restricted and unbounded right of way for the 
herds of cattle that were driven through Cam- 
bridge to Brighton. In fine, one can hardly 
have filled a larger place in the community of 
his residence than he filled, with prompt and 
faithful service, with overflowing kindness and 
good will, and with the grateful recognition of 
people of every class and condition." 

The theologians played a large part in the 
social and intellectual life of Cambridge. Pro- 
fessor Andrews Norton lived in Cambridge for 
forty-three years, and made his beautiful house 
at Shady Hill a place of pilgrimage for two gen- 
erations of students. For twenty years he 
served as tutor, librarian and lectvirer; and then 
for twenty-three he gave himself to his inde- 
pendent work as a Biblical scholar. His suc- 
cessor in the Professorship of Sacred Literature 
was John Gorham Palfrey, who was not only 
famous for the thoroughness of his scholarship 
and the chann of his teaching, but also for his 
labors as editor of the North American Review, 
and for his anti-slavery words and works. After 
his withdrawal from teaching he continued to 
live on the ample estate which he had made at 
the end of Divinity Avenue, and added to his 
fame by writing his "History of New England," 
and by serving as a member of Congress and 
as the Postmaster of Boston. 

Sidney Willard was another theological pro- 
fessor who was also a useful citizen. He held 
the Hancock professorship of Hebrew, and was 
editor of the American Monthly Review and later 
of the Christian Register. Like Dr. Palfrey, 
after withdrawing from teaching, he gave his 
time and ability to the public ser\-ice. He was 



112 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



for several terms in the Legislature, then a 
member of the Governor's Council, and for 
three years Mayor of Cambridge after the organi- 
zation of the city. 

Among the professors of the College proper 
under the administration of Presidents Kirkland 
and Quincy there were many others who gave 
unique quality to Cambridge hfe. There was 
Edward Everett, who left the pulpit to become 
the first incumbent of the Eliot Professorship 
of Greek, and who was afterwards for foiu- years 
president of the University; and there was John 
Quincy Adams, who was the Boylston Professor 
of Rhetoric and Oratory. These are great names 
in American history, but the bearers of these 
names walked our Cambridge streets and 
stopped for their letters at the Post-office along 
with the humblest of their fellow-citizens. Their 
successors were men of lesser fame, but their 
personalities gave flavor to the town. Professor 
John S. Popkin was the best Greek scholar of his 
generation. He was a man of majestic presence, 
but of very odd appearance and manner. Lowell 
describes his "great silver spectacles of the heroic 
period, such as scarce twelve noses of these 
degenerate days could bear;" and Dr. Peabody 
said: "Shyness and solitude gave him an aspect 
and manners more eccentric than can easily be 
imagined in these days, when, under the assimi- 
lating influence of modern habits, idiosyncrasies 
have faded out, and every man means and aims 
to look like every other. His dress, indeed, 
was, in an historical sense, that of a gentleman; 
but his tailor must have been the last stirvivor 
of an else long extinct race. He never walked. 
His gait was always what is termed a dog-trot, 
slightly accelerated as he approached its termi- 
nus. He jerked out his words as if they were 
forced from him by a nervous spasm, and closed 
every utterance with a sound that seemed like 
a muscular movement of suction. In his recita- 
tion-room he sat by a table rather than behind 
it, and grasped his right leg, generally with both 
hands, lifting it as if he were making attempts 
to shoulder it, and more nearly accomplishing 
that feat daily than an ordinary gymnast would 
after a year's special training. As chairman 
of the parietal government, he regarded it as 
his official duty to preserve order in the College 
Yard: but he was the frequent cause of disorder; 
for nothing so amused the students as to see 



him in full chase after an offender, or dancing 
round a bonfire; while it was well understood 
that as a detective, he was almost always at 
fault. 

"Oddities were then not rare, and excited 
less surprise and animadversion than they would 
now. The students held him in reverence, and 
at the same time liked him. His were the only 
windows of parietal officers that were never 
broken. Personal insult or outrage to him 
would have been resented by those who took 
the greatest delight in indirect methods of 
annoying him. Once, indeed, when he was 
groping on the floor in quest of smothered fire, 
in a room that had been shattered by an ex- 
plosion of gunpowder, a bucket of water was 
thrown on him by a youth, whose summary 
expulsion was the only case of the kind that I 
then knew in which the judgment of the students 
was in entire harmony with that of the Faculty. 
As may be supposed, he was not without a 
nickname, which he accepted as a matter of 
course from the students; but hearing it on one 
occasion from a young man of dapper, jaunty, 
unacademic aspect, he said to a friend who was 
standing with him, 'What right has that man 
to call me " Old Pop " ? He was never a member 
of Harvard College.' 

"Dr. Popkin's only luxvu-y was the ver>' mod- 
erate use of tobacco. Every noon and every 
evening, Sundays excepted, he trotted to an 
apothecary's shop, laid dovm two cents, then 
the price for what would now cost five times as 
much, and carried to his room a single Spanish 
cigar. Of course, though the shop was open, he 
would not go to it on Sunday ; and he would not 
duplicate his Saturday's purchase, lest he might 
be tempted to dupHcate his Saturday evening's 
indulgence. A friend who often \'isited him 
on Sunday evening always took with him two 
cigars, one of which the doctor gratefully ac- 
cepted." 

Dr. Popkin retired in 1833, but lived, chiefly 
occupied in reading the Greek Testament and 
the Greek poets, until 1852. During his teach- 
ing days he had lived at first in a College room 
and later in the old Wigglesworth house next 
to the President's house. He after^-ards built 
a house on Massachusetts Avenue (then North 
Avenue) next to the house of his classmate and 
lifelong Associate, Professor Levi Hedge. The 



THE TOWN 



113 



old gentlemen held pleasant intercourse daily 
over the fence, but it is said that neither ever 
entered the other's house. Dr. Hedge was for 
many years the professor of logic and meta- 
physics. He had written the text-book which 
was used in his classes. He did not attempt to 
teach, but expected his students to memorize 
the book. According to common report he 
was in the habit of saying: " It took me fourteen 
years, with the assistance of the adult members 
of my family, to write this book, and I am sure 
that you cannot do better than to employ the 
precise words of the learned author." He is 
best remembered, bj- a later generation, as the 
father of Dr. Frederic Henry Hedge, the great 
preacher, theologian and German scholar. 

The successors of 
John Quincy Adams 
in the Boylston 
professorship were 
both noteworthy 
men, Joseph 
McKean (1809- 
1818) and Edward 
T. Channing (1819- 
1851). Channing 
it was who formed 
the English style of 
a generation of 
American writers 
and speakers who 
belonged to what is 
sometimes called 
the golden age of 
American literature. 

Three learned and beloved professors of this 
period became successively presidents of the 
University. Jared Sparks was the professor 
of history from 1838 to 1849, and president from 
1849 to 1853. His voluminous and painstaking 
work as author and editor sustained the literar\- 
pre-eminence of the College. James Walker, 
one of the most influential preachers of his gen- 
eration, became professor of philosophy in 1838, 
and was president from 1853 to 1860. After 
his retirement his home on Sparks Street was 
the resort of innumerable leaders of the younger 
generation who sought the guidance of his far- 
seeing \\-isdom and rich experience. Cornelius 
C. Felton began to teach Greek at Cambridge 
in 1832, succeeded Dr. Popkin in the Eliot pro- 




UIVINITY HALL 



fessorship two years later, and in 1860 succeeded 
Dr. Walker as president. 

The great name of Benjamin Pierce appeared 
in fifty-four of the annual catalogues of the 
University, and he died at the beginning of his 
fiftieth year of continuous service as tutor and 
professor. His fame as a mathematician early 
became worldwide, and added not a little to the 
renown of Cambridge. Asa Gray came to 
Cambridge in 1842, and for forty-six years his 
name and fame made Cambridge illustrious in 
the eyes of all who loved plants and flowers, or 
who sought to find the secrets of nature. He 
established the Botanic Garden on Garden 
Street, and was the foremost of American bot- 
anists. The Obsers^atory was established in 

President Quincy's 
administration, and 
under the guidance 
of William Cranch 
Bond soon became 
the most renowned 
place of astronomi- 
cal research in 
America. 

Finally, among 
the scholars who 
ga\"e to Cambridge 
its unique distinc- 
tion, were a number 
of distinguished 
gentlemen of foreign 
birth, who came to 
the town because 
of its literary 
associations, or were connected with the Uni- 
versity life. Francis Sales, a high-bred French 
gentleman, was the tutor in French and Spanish 
from 1816 to 1854, and was worthily held in 
high regard in the society of his adopted town, 
introducing into what may well have been a 
somewhat prim and formal intercourse, a per- 
petually youthful vivacity, and the manners 
and dress of a Frenchman 'of the Old Regime. 
Lowell wrote of him: "Perpetual childhood 
dwelt in him, the childliood of his native South- 
eni France, and its fixed air was all the time 
bubbling up and sparkling and winking in his 
eyes. It seemed as if his placid old face were 
only a mask behind which a merry Cupid had 
ambushed himself, peeping out all the while, 



114 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



and ready to drop it when the play grew tire- 
some. Every word he uttered seemed to be 
hilarious, no matter what the occasion. If he 
were sick, and you \-isited him, if he had met 
with a misfortune (and there are few men so 
wise that they can look even at the back of a 
retiring sorrow with composure), it was all one; 
his great laugh went off as if it were set like an 
alann clock, to run down, whether he would or 
no, at a certain nick. Even after an ordinary 
Good morning! (especially if to an old jjupil, 
and in French), the wonderful Haw, haw, haw! 
by Shorge! would burst upon you unexpectedly, 



would it have occurred to him to turn it into 
view, and insist that his friends shovdd look at it 
with him. Nor was this a mere outside good- 
humor; its source was deeper, in a true Christian 
kindliness and amenity." 

Charles FoUen was the first teacher of German 
at Harvard, and a man of remarkable gifts. 
He had been a student and professor at the 
University of Giessen; and when driven from 
Germany because of his participation in certain 
patriotic and insurrectionary demonstrations, 
found refuge in Switzerland. Encouraged by 
Lafavette and bv Professor Tieknor he came to 




MEMORIAL HALL ANTI SANDERS THEATRE 



like a salute of artillery on some holiday which 
j^ou had forgotten. Ever^'thing was a joke to 
him, — that the oath of allegiance had been 
administered to him by your grandfather, — 
that he had taught Prescott his first Spanish 
(of which he was proud), — no inatter what. 
Everything came to him marked by Nature 
Right side up, with care, and he kept it so. The 
world to him, as to all of us, was like a medal, 
on the obverse of which is stamped the image 
of Joy, and on the reverse that of Care. S. 
never took the foolish pains to look at that other 
side, even if he knew its existence; much less 



America, and in 1825 became instructor in 
Gennan at Cambridge and proved a most stimu- 
lating leader. It was Dr. Follen who introduced 
gymnastics in the College. Under his enthusi- 
astic direction the Delta, where Memorial Hall 
now stands, was fitted up as an out-of-door 
g]yTnnasium; and under Dr. Follen's leadership 
there first began the interest in athletics which 
has in later years filled so prominent a place in 
student life. Dr. Follen married Miss Eliza 
Lee Cabot, and built a house on Waterhouse 
Street, at the comer of the street that now bears 
his name. Withdrawing from teaching in 1835, 



THE TOWN 



115 



he took up the work of the ministry and was 
the founder of what is now the Follen Church 
at East Lexington. He lost his Hfe in 1840, in 
the burning of the steamer Lexington on Long 
Island Sound. 

Charles Beck was another notable German 
scholar who was implicated in the same demon- 
strations against autocratic government in 
Gennany that had forced Dr. Follen to fly. 
They were comrades on the voyage to America; 
and. in 1832, he became professor of Latin at 
Harvard. He taught for eighteen years and 
then retired, but his home, at the corner of 
Ouincv and Har\'ard Streets where the Harvard 



his boundless sympathies, his extraordinary 
gift of making friends, his genial personality, 
led all his hearers captive. In 1848 the Law- 
rence Scientific School was organized at Cam- 
bridge ; and Agassiz became Professor of Natural 
History, and another great scientist who was 
Cambridge trained, Jeffries Wyman, became 
Professor of Anatomy. Agassiz at once estab- 
lished himself at Cambridge wdth a company of 
friends and assistants who had followed hiin 
from Europe, and who together made a cheerful 
household. In this domestic group were Count 
Francois de Pourtales, M. Edward Desor, M. 
Jaques Burkhard, the draughtsman, and M. A. 




THE HARVARD UNION 



Union now stands, was long the center of a 
boundless hospitality. Beck Hall, the earliest 
of the privately-owned donnitories for students, 
Avas built by his daughter on part of the estate ; 
and his name is also borne by the old Cambridge 
Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. He 
was a most ardent patriot, and foremost among 
Cambridge citizens at the time of the Civil War 
in recruiting and providing hospital supplies. 

Most famous among these memorable Cam- 
bridge citizens of foreign birth was Louis Agassiz. 
Agassiz came to Boston in 1846 to lecture at the 
Lowell Institute. His scientific enthusiasm. 



Sourel. the lithographic artist. M. Christison, 
an old Swiss minister, was their housekeeper 
and homcmaker. Later, Professor Guyot 
arrived and many guests, chiefly foreign scien- 
tists, were constantly coming and going. Down 
on the marsh by the Boylston Street Bridge 
was an old shanty on piles. This Agassiz utilized 
for the storage of his first collections. Boards 
nailed against the walls were the cases for speci- 
mens, and a single rough table completed the 
laboratory-. Such were, in 1848, the humble 
beginnings of the Museum of Comparative 
Zoolog3% now one of the greatest institutions 



116 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



of the kind in the world. In 1S50 Agassiz 
married Miss Elizabeth Cabot Gary, an alliance 
which made him a member of a large and happy 
family circle, and brought him into especial 
intimacy with his colleague, Professor C. C. 
Felton, who became his brother-in-law. Agassiz 
not only lectured in all parts of the country, but 
carried on a vast scientific correspondence; and 
Cambridge became the Mecca of an ever- 
increasing body of students of zoology, geology 
and cognate subjects. In 185-1 the Agassizs 
moved into the house which the College had 
built for them, at the comer of Quincy Street 
and Broadway, and there they carried on for 
eight years, in addition to all the great public 
labors, a private school of the highest reputa- 
tion. The Museum building, which is popularly 
known by the name of Agassiz, was begun in 
1860. To the life and work of this most eminent 
of all American students of natiu-e and his asso- 
ciates and successors, Cambridge owes not onl}^ 
its incomparable Museum, but also its fame as 
the chief American center for scientific research. 
Such were some of the remarkable group that 
made the old Cambridge of the first half of the 
nineteenth century a singularly interesting 
place of residence. A more agreeable or stimu- 
lating society, or one more united in habits of 
life, common intellectual interests and happy 



l^ersonal relationships it would be difficult to 
recall. Longfellow, writing from Rome, told 
of a talk he had had with Darwin: "Why," 
said Darwin, "what a set of men you have in 
Cambridge. Both our Universities put together 
cannot furnish the like. Why, there is Agassiz, 
he counts for three." 



If Cambridge was thus renowned for the 
quality of the people who lived there, it is inter- 
esting to record that new reputation came to 
the town in the nineteenth century because of 
the fame of the people whose bodies were brought 
to rest in Cambridge soil. In 1831 the Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society, which owned a 
beautifully variegated tract of land at the 
western end of Cambridge, was authorized by 
act of legislature to establish there a rural ceme- 
terJ^ Judge Story was the leader in this move- 
ment, and he it was who delivered the dedication 
address on September 24, 1831. Mount Auburn 
was laid out in accordance with designs made by 
Mr. Alexander Wadsworth, and was the first, 
as it is still the most beautiful, of the well- 
planned country cemeteries in the United States. 
Alount Auburn is in no small degree the West- 
minster Abbey of our Nation, for within its 
gates rest many of the most famous of Americans. 



X 

THE CITY 



THE time had arrived when Cambridge 
must become a city. Between 1840 and 
1845 the population had nearly doubled 
and with this sudden growth in numbers there 
had been an almost equal increase in the town's 
valuation. The habits of local government 
which were suited to a community of a few 
thousand people were strained to meet the needs 
of a population of over tweh-e thousand. The 
stomiy debates about the inclosing of the Com- 
mon had demonstrated the inadequacy of the 
old Court-house at Harvard Square to accom- 
modate the voters, and the town meeting had 
been obliged to adjourn across the street to the 
Meeting-house. An agitation for larger quarters 
resulted in the building, in 1832, of a new town- 
house on Norfolk Street in Cambridge])ort. 
This was another grievance for the people of 
the Old Village who had already seen the County 
Courts transferred from Harvard Square to 
East Cambridge. Most of the new population 
and wealth were in the new villages, and jealousy 
between the three sections still disturbed the 
civic life of the town. The spirit of rivalry 
between "the Port" and "the Point," which 
had begun with the building of the two bridges, 
was still active and both of the new villages had 
a long-standing grievance against Old Cam- 
bridge, because of the real or supposed unwilling- 
ness of the taxpayers who lived there to be taxed 
for the building of schools and streets in the 
newer parts of the town. Communication 
between the three villages was slow and at some 
seasons even difficult. No one section was 
strong enough to control the town meeting, but 
there was constant wrangling. One solution 
of the difficulty was to still further subdivide 
the town which had already seen Lexington, 
West Cambridge (Arlington), Newton and 
Brighton carved out of its original territor^^ 
Another solution was to effect "a more perfect 
union" by adopting a city form of government. 
The latter course prevailed. A petition of some 
of the residents of Old Cambridge, presented 



to the General Court in 1842, and praying to be 
set off as a distinct town, was rejected; and a 
petition for a City Charter adopted at a town 
meeting held on January 14, 1846, was granted 
Ijy the General Court with a referendum to the 
voters of the town. The act incorporating the 
city was signed by Governor Briggs on March 
17, 1846. On March 30th, the voters, by a vote 
of 645 to 224, adopted the charter, and on May 
4th the first city government was inaugurated. 
It was no easy task to care for the fast -growing 
needs of the young city. It is difficult to realize 
how very recent in discovery and adoption are 
all the conveniences of community life which 
the people of a modern city take for granted. 
The old town of Cambridge had indeed pro\-ided 
for schools and for very inexpensive schoolhouses, 
for the care of the poor in an almshouse, and 
for the occasional repair of the dirt roads, but 
that was all. When the citizens had arranged 
for the primary education of the children and 
made decent provision for the destitute, their 
civic olDligations appeared to them to be ful- 
filled. Everj-thing else that contributed to 
the health, comfort, protection and happiness 
of the people was disregarded or left to the initia- 
tive of private individuals. When the city was 
incorporated the streets were unpaved and un- 
lighted. The sidewalks were uncurbed and 
neglected. Water was drawn from wells or 
rain-tanks attached to the individual houses. 
There were no sewers and no system of garbage 
collection. Not until 1852 was an ordinance 
adopted establishing a system of sewers, and not 
until 1865 did the city undertake to pro\'ide 
water. There was no provision for the care 
of the public health, nor means for preventing 
or checking epidemics: no hospital, no ambu- 
lance, no nurses. The people were accustomed 
to pasture their cattle on the grassy roads, and 
there was a good deal of resentment when the 
new city government tried to put a stop to that 
practice. A watchman or constable was em- 
ployed in each of the three xdllages, but there 



118 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 




CUV HALL 



THE CITY 



119 



was no police force, and indeed, to the credit 
of the citizens, it must be said that there was 
very seldom any occasion for the services of a 
policeman. There were several volunteer fire 
companies, but it sometimes happened that 
their efforts did more damage to property than 
the fire they were supposed to extinguish . There 
was no public library, and parks and play- 
grounds were undreamed of. The two bridges 
connecting Cambridge with Boston were both 
privately owned toll bridges, and did not become 
free until 1858. The hourly stage sufficed for 
public conveyance. Save for the works of the 
New England Glass Company at East Cam- 
bridge, some small soap factories in the Port, 
the brick-making on the Fresh Pond meadows, 
and the printing business at Han.-ard Square, 
there was no manufacturing. The chief in- 
dustry was still the College, which, with the 
Divinity School and the Law School, had in 
the middle of the century some five hundred 
students. The business of teaching, lodging, 
boarding, clothing and generally providing for 
these temporary residents was the occupation 
of the majority of the households of the Old 
Village. 

The new city government went to work 
promptly and judiciously. The first mayor 
was James D. Green, who had been the minister 
of the Unitarian Church in East Cambridge, 
and who had already served as a selectman and 
as a representative in the General Court. He 
served two terms and was succeeded by Pro- 
fessor Sidney Willard for three tenns. Mr. 
Green was mayor again in 18vS3, and again during 
the early years of the Civil War. Police and 
fire departments were organized, roads began 
to be pa\-cd and sidewalks to be constructed. 
The "Old Villagers," the "Porters" and the 
"Pointers" began to lose their sectional dis- 
tinctions. Houses grew up on the intervening 
fields and marshes until the three villages could 
no longer be distinguished. A community 
feeling more and more superseded the old 
rivalries. Conveniences and comforts .multi- 
plied, population continued to grow rapidly, 
and if the tax rate showed a steady increase 
there was no complaint, because the people 
received their money's worth. In twenty years 
in the place of the three villages there was a 
united, busy, suburban city, with many and 



diversified industries, abundant public spirit 
and an intelligent, progressive population. 

John Fiske, in his oration at the celebration 
of the fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation 
of the city pointed out that the chief causes of 
the growi:h of Cambridge were three in number : 
proximity to Boston, the reputation and growth 
of the University and its allied interests, and 
the availability of the city as a manufacturing 
center. The whole city shared in the general 
prosperity of the metropolitan district of Boston, 
and the early development of a transportation 
system gave Cambridge a good start. The 
Union Railway Company was organized in 1855, 
under the leadership of Gardiner G. Hubbard, 
Charles C. Little, Estes Howe and other active 
and sanguine citizens, and the first street cars 
began to run over the West Boston Bridge 
between Han-ard Square and Bowdoin Square 
in Boston in the following year. The trans- 
portation facilities have since kept pace with the 
needs of the people. Electricity took the place 
of horses as a motive power on the street rail- 
ways in 1889, and the rapid transit afforded by 
the new system of subways will undoubtedly 
again stimulate the growth of population. 

Many of the leading merchants and pro- 
fessional men of Boston make their homes in 
Cambridge, where their families can enjoy access 
to sunlight and fresh air, to green lawns and 
gardens, where the schools are admirably con- 
ducted, where health conditions are the best 
of any city in the state, where there are no 
saloons and where the libraries and parks and 
the various acti^^ties of the University provide 
unusual facilities for education, recreation and 
social enjojanent. Famous lawyers like Henry 
W. Paine, Richard H. Dana and Chauncy Smith, 
who were leaders of the Boston Bar, were thus 
Cambridge residents; and among the many 
honorable business men who lived in Cambridge 
while conducting their afiairs in Boston two 
should be especially remembered, both because 
of the service which they rendered to the civic 
life of their home city, and because they manu- 
factured and distributed a characteristic Cam- 
bridge product. Henry 0. Houghton was the 
founder of the Riverside Press, and senior part- 
ner of the great publishing house of Houghton, 
Mifflin & Company. He ser\'ed one year 
as Mayor of Cambridge. Charles C. Little 



120 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



was the founder of another great publishing 
firm, Little, Brown & Company, and he was 
the active promoter of many of the local 
enterprises which contributed to the develop- 
ment and welfare of Cambridge. 

The growth of Cambridge has, in the second 
jjlace, been influenced by the presence of the 
University. More than four thousand officers 
and students live in Cambridge and in the long 
vacation a thousand other students come to 
attend the summer courses. Every year a 
considerable number of families move to Cam- 
bridge in order to educate their children, and 
others come because of teaching appointments, 
or for purposes of scientific research. The co- 
operation between the University and the city 
for the public welfare is close and cordial. The 
great literary and 
scientific collections p 
of the University 
are open to all 
under suitable 
restrictions. The 
Library, the Bo- 
tanic Garden, the 
University Mu- 
seum, the Fogg 
Museum of Arts, 
the Peabody Mvi- 
seum, the Seinitic 
Museum, the Ger- 
m a n i c M u s e u m , 
the .Social Muse- 
um, are all places 
of large public 

resort. The University chapel is a center of 
interest for many Cambridge people, for through- 
out the year services are conducted there by 
eminent preachers of many different denomina- 
tions. The L^niversity also provides a very 
large number of evening lectures open to the 
public. These lectures cover a wide range of 
subjects and afford to Cambridge people many 
opportunities of seeing and hearing distinguished 
men. The Boston Symphony Orchestra has 
for many years given an annual series of concerts 
under the auspices of the University, and there 
are many other opportunities of musical culture 
afforded by the presence of the College. 

• The University gives to the city a unique 
atmosphere. It is cheerful and inspiring to 




THE WILLIAM HAYES FOGG ART MUSEUM 



live in a city through which pours an ever-rising 
tide of healthy and manly youth making ready 
for worthy service in the world, but not yet 
burdened by its cares and griefs. It is agreeable 
to live where hundreds of men work with their 
minds bent primarily on intellectual pursuits, 
and kindled by enthusiasms which have nothing 
material as their object. "A society," said 
Horace Scudder, "in which a university is 
planted cannot easily make riches the measure 
of social rank, and Cambridge thus still attracts 
the lovers of a literary life, who value in society 
the coin which is struck from the same mint as 
that they carr>' about with them in their empty 
pockets;" and William D. Howells wrote of his 
Cambridge experiences; "One could be openly 
poor in Cambridge without shame, for no one 

was very rich 
there, and no one 
was proud of his 
riches. . . . The 
air of the Cam- 
bridge that I knew 
was sufficiently 
cool to be bracing 
but what was of 
good import in me 
flourished in it. 
The life of the 
place had its lat- 
eral limitations ; 
sometimes its lights 
failed to detect 
excellent things 
that lay beyond 
it; but upward it opened inimitably." 

It is easy to see that Cambridge should profit 
by its advantages as a place of suburban resi- 
dence and as a resort for scholars, but it is more 
surprising to discover how its growth has been 
expedited by the estabUshment of numerous 
factories. In recent years the combined facilities 
for railroad and water communication in the 
eastern part of the city have proved peculiarly 
favorable to great manufacturing plants. The 
Fitchburg Railroad skirts the northern boundary 
of the city and the main line of the Boston and 
Albany Railroad is just across the river on the 
south. The Grand Junction freight tracks 
run through the eastern end of Cambridgeport 
and East Cambridge, connecting these trunk 



THE CITY 



121 



lines that enter Boston and giving to that sec- 
tion of Cambridge unusual transportation ad- 
vantages. The chief manufacturers are of 
various kinds of machinery, and among the other 
important industries may be mentioned printing 
and publishing, musical instruments (especially 
pianos and organs), furniture, clothing, soap 
and candles, biscuit-making, carriage-making 
and wheelwright's work, plumbing and plumber's 
materials, bricks and tiles and confectionery. 
"Most of the steel railway bridges in New Eng- 
land," said Mr. Fiske in the semi-centennial 
oration, "are built in Cambridge, and a con- 
siderable part of the world is supplied with 
hydraulic engines. The United States Navy 
comes to Cambridge for its pumps, and this 
Cambridge product may be seen at work in 
Honolulu, in Sydney, in St. Petersburg. In the 
dimensions of its pork-packing industry Cam- 
bridge comes next after Chicago and Kansas 
City. Fifty years ago all the fish-netting used 
in America was made in England; today it is 
chiefly made in East Cambridge. The potteries 
on Walden Street turn out most of the flower- 
pots used in this country." Such facts as these 
bear witness to the unusual faeihties of the city, 
where coal can be taken and freight can be 
shipped at the very door of the factory, where 
the protection against fire is efficient, where 
skilled labor is easy to get, because good work- 
men find life comfortable and attractive, with 
healthy conditions of life and unrivalled means 
of education for their children. 

Among the Cambridge industries, several 
are especially characteristic and famous. The 
University Press is the successor of the first 
printing establishment in America, of which we 
have spoken as beginning in 1639. The River- 
side Press sets the standards of bookmaking as 
one of the fine arts. The Athenaeum Press, 
founded by the ability and practical foresight 
of Edwin Ginn and his associates, turns out the 
school books that arc used all o\'er the country. 
The past half century- has seen Cambridge come 
into the foremost rank among the printing and 
publishing centers of the world. A unique 
industry goes on in a modest estalslishment on 
Brookline Street, where, just before crossing 
the bridge, one comes upon a pleasant dwelling 
house, with a private observatory, and hard 
by it a plain brick building. That is the shop 



of Alvan Clark and Sons, who have carried the 
art of telescope-making to a height never reached 
before. There have been made the most power- 
ful refracting telescopes in the world. The 
Mason and Hamlin Company built its factories 
on Broadway in 1874, and sends its famous 
organs and pianos all over the globe. The 
gardens of the world are watered, its fires 
quenched, its wheels tired, by the products of 
the Woven Hose Company, which, starting 
from very small beginnings in 1870, has grown 
into an enormous concern. The Cambridge- 
port plant of the New York Biscuit Com- 
pany, formerly the famous factory of Mr. 
Frank A. Kennedy, is the second largest in 
the country. The John P. Squire Company 
Corporation, leading pork-packers; Ginn and 
Company, leading publishers. 

The prosperity of Cambridge has also been 
upbuilt and its political and social life unified 
by the energies of its municipal administration 
and the supply of the varied needs of the com- 
munity. When the city was organized its people 
drank from a thousand difl^erent private wells. 
All now drink alike from one public supply. 
It was in 1852 that a charter was granted to 
the Cambridge Water Works, and four years 
later Fresh Pond was set aside as the source of 
supply. A high serxdee reservoir was estab- 
lished at the corner of Reservoir Street and 
Highland Street with a tower which was long 
a landmark. "I shall hardly expect to know 
my native Cambridge when I come back," 
wrote Lowell from Europe, "what with 
railroads and water-works. . . . The water- 
works I have no manner of conception of. 
Whence is the water to come? Where is the 
reser\'oir to be? And will a pipe run through 
Elmwood lane and cut off all the roots of the 
ash-trees? Will there be any fountains?' Will 
it be against the law to mix an\i:hing with the 
water?" And on his return he wrote: "Rome, 
Venice, Cambridge! I take it for an ascending 
scale, Rome being the first step and Cambridge 
the glowing apex. But you wouldn't know 
Cambridge — with its railroad and its water- 
works and its new houses. . . . Thinlv of a 
reservoir behind Mr. Wells's! And then think 
of Royal Morse and John Holmes and me in 
the midst of these phenomena! I seem to see 
our dear old village wriggling itself out of its 



122 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



chrysalis and balancing its green wings till the 
sun gives them color and fimmess." 

As the demand for water increased new sources 
of supply were utilized: Spy Pond (afterwards 
abandoned) and WeUington Brook, then Stony 
Brook, and Hobbs Brook, where large storage 
basins have been constructed. Fresh Pond 
is now practically the distributing reservoir, 
and the high service reservoir is now on the hill 
in Pavson Park at the west of the Pond. The 
surroundings of the Pond are now a Park under 
the control of the Water Board and appropriately 
named for Chester W. Kingsley, who was for 



dedicated with an address by President Edward 
Everett. In 1886 the high school, then located 
in the building at the comer of Broadway and 
Fayette Streets, was divided, the classical 
department becoming the Cambridge Latin 
School, and the remaining departments, the 
Cambridge English High School. The grammar 
schools of Cambridge take high rank among 
the similar organizations and the city has always 
enjoyed the services of able and high-minded 
.superintendents. The standards of attainment 
arc such as befit a university town, and Cam- 
liridgc spends more money on its schools than 




CAMBRIDCiE PUBLIC I.lBRAkV 



nearly thirty years a niember of that Board, and 
for fourteen years its President. 

At the time when Cambridge became a city 
a high school and a grammar school was con- 
ducted in each of the three villages; and one of 
the first steps of the new government was to 
bring the high schools together in a central 
school in Cambridgeport. This step still further 
reduced the sectional jealousies and promoted 
the growth of more sympathetic relations be- 
tween the different parts of the city. The first 
building of this united high school stood at the 
comer of Summer and Amory vStreets and was 



most American cities. In addition to the public- 
schools Cambridge enjoys the presence of a 
number of famous private schools. The Browne 
and Nichols School was started in 1883 and at 
once attained a very high reputation as a pre- 
paratory school for Harvard. The Cambridge 
School for Girls was opened in 1886, and has 
had a large success and an increasing influence. 
The Buckingham School for children on Buck- 
ingham Place and the School of the Misses 
Smith on Buckingham Street are also well 
known. 

The University naturally attracted to its 



THE CITY 



123 



neighborhood not only these preparatory schools, 
but also independent professional schools. Par- 
ticularly Cambridge has become the great center 
for the education of ministers. The Harvard 
Divinity School has had a long and honorable 
history. In 1867 the Episcopal Theological 
School was established at Cambridge on account 
of the advantages to be had from the academic 
associations. St. John's Memorial Chapel was 
built in 1869. Reed Hall, adjoining the librarj' 
and commemorating the name of the chief 
founder of the School, was built in 1875, Law- 
rence Hall in 1880, and Winthrop Hall in 1893. 
In 1889 the New Church Theological School 
moved to Cambridge, and for its use there was 
purchased the residence of President Sparks. 
Two years later the adjoining Greenough estate 
was purchased, so that the grounds of the School 
now extend along Quincy Street from Cambridge 
to Kirkland. In 1910 the Andover Theological 
School removed from Andover to Cambridge, 
and in the following year its beautiful and com- 
modiotis building was dedicated. 

Radcliffe College was begun in 1879 under 
the name of the Society for the Collegiate In- 
struction of Women. This Society was in- 
corporated in 1882; at which time the Fay 
House, which is the oldest of the present group 
of buildings, was purchased, enlarged and im- 
proved. In 1894 the Society became Radcliffe 
College and entered in close and official relation- 
ship with Harvard University. The buildings 
of the College, opposite the Washington elm, 
already form a conspicuous and handsome group. 

The need for parks and playgrounds did not 
arise in Cambridge until after the rapid growth 
of population had brought about undesirable 
congestion in several sections of the city. It 
was not until 1892 that the committee was ap- 
pointed to consider the subject of parks. Since 
that time the development has been rapid. The 
embankment along the Charles River has been 
laid out with a continuous parkway. A tract 
of twelve acres in East Cambridge has been set 
aside and improved as the Cambridge Field, 
and a large tract in North Cambridge as a play- 
ground known as Rindge Field. The building 
of a dam across the mouth of the Charles River 
has turned the entire river into a splendid water 
park. At Captain's Island on the river bank 
a park of some thirty-eight acres is being de- 



veloped. The new impulse for the purchase of 
playgrounds is effective, and considerable ]3ur- 
chases of ground for these purposes have been 
made in the year in which this book goes to the 
press. 

In 1846 when the City Charter was granted 
there were fourteen Protestant churches and 
one Catholic Church in Cambridge. The two 
branches of the First Chiu-ch, the First Parish 
(Unitarian) and the Shepard ' Congregational 
Society dated from 1636 and Christ Church 
from 1761. The Cambridgeport Parish (Uni- 
tarian) had been organized in 1808. The first 
Methodist Church was organized in East Cam- 
bridge in 1813, the first Baptist Church in 
Cambridgeport (Central Square) in 1817, and 
the first Universalist Church in Cambridgeport 
in 1822. The first Roman Catholic Church was 
founded in East Cambridge in 1842. There 
are now fifty-three churches in Cambridge, 
representing all denominations. 

In the care of the needy, in the adoption of 
modern methods of charity and correction, in 
the appHcation of the best intelligence to the 
prevention of disease and the amelioration of 
suffering, Cambridge has been as much a jMoneer 
as in education and religion. The Cambridge 
Humane Society was one of the earliest organiza- 
tions in the world for \-illage improvement and 
community welfare. It was founded in 1814 
under the guidance of Dr. Al^iel Holmes. It 
had a long and honorable career and has now 
ceased to exist, save as it survives in one of its 
offshoots, the Female Humane Society. There 
are now a score or more of vigorous philan- 
thropic agencies at work in Cambridge. The 
thoroughly organized and efficient Associated 
Charities date from 1881. The Cambridge 
Hospital was incorporated in 1871, the Avon 
Home for Children began in 1874, and the Homes 
for Aged People a little later. Among the other 
well-known institutions there should lac men- 
tioned such educational and social centers as 
the Cambridge Social Union, the Prospect Union 
and the Young Men's and Young Women's 
Christian Associations; such social settlements 
as the East End Christian Union, the Neighbor- 
hood House, the Margaret Fuller House, the 
James A. Woolson House and the Riverside 
House. In recent years there have arisen the 
Anti-Tuberculosis Association, the Visiting 



124 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 




THE CITY 



125 



Nursing Association, the Home Savings Asso- 
ciation and other \'igorous and useful organiza- 
tions for the prevention or the cure of poverty 
and sickness. It would be difficult to discover 
any physical, moral or spiritual need that is un- 



of these was designated simply by the name of 
the city. The public ser\'ice corporations are 
admirably administered. The Boston Elevated 
Railway Company, whose president General 
Wm. A. Bancroft is a citizen and former 




•'liKDEUleK H. RiNDGE. 



supplied by one or another of these channels 
of a generous community spirit. 

The banking institutions of Cambridge are 
numerous and sound. The first bank was 
chartered in 1826, the first savings bank in 
1834, and the first trust company in 1890. Each 



mayor of Cambridge, furnishes rapid and 
reliable transportation in and through aU parts 
of the city. The New England Telephone 
Company pro\'ides ample facilities for telephonic 
communication. The Cambridge Gas Company 
was organized in 1852 by the same energetic 



126 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



group of men that originated the Street Railway, 
and has done a large and constantly increasing 
business. The Cambridge Electric Light Com- 
pany was incorporated in 1886 and provides an 
excellent system of illumination for the city. 

In 1887 Mr. Frederick H. Rindge began a 
series of gifts to his native city which provide 
for a noble group of buildings. The first build- 
ing erected by Mr. Rindge was that for the PuIdIIc 
Library, an ample, convenient and beautiful 
building which houses a large and valuable 
collection. Mr. Rindge supplemented this gift 
in the following year by building near the Library 
a Manual Training School, and later he built 
on an adjacent lot a large and handsome High 
School, and then a home for the Latin School. 
Meanwhile, in 1889, he had further provided 
for the erection of a beautiful City Hall, a 
building remarkable for its fine proportions and 
imposing dignity. Mr. Rindge was a son of 
Cambridge, but he spent the years of his man- 
hood in California. His gifts were made during 
the mayoralty of William E. Russell, the brilliant 
young leader of public opinion, Cambridge born 
and educated, who was afterwards for three 
years Governor of Massachusetts, and who, but 
for his early death, would surely have risen to 
still higher places of responsibility and honor 
in a nation that knows how to secure for its 
service men of wide vision, integrity of purpose 
and administrative ability. 

In the thirty years between 1880 and 1910 
Cambridge again almost exactly doubled in 
population, a gain chiefly accounted for by an 
extraordinary increase in the number of families 
of foreign birth, and even as this book is jjub- 
lished two events which foretoken further 
changes in the aspect and life of Cambridge 
are taking jjlacc. The completion of the subway 
from Harvard Square to Park Street in Boston, 
and the consequent rapid transit, will presum- 
ably be followed by another rapid increase 
in population, for Cambridge is the most 
quickly and easily accessible of all the towns 
and cities adjacent to Boston; and the purcha.se 
by the Massachvisetts Institute of Technology 
of fifty acres of land on the Charles River em- 
bankment and the removal of that great and 
famous school to Cambridge will both increase 
the renown of the place as the chief educational 
center of the country and insure the rapid devel- 



opment and improvement of all the property 
on the river front between the Harvard and 
Cambridge bridges. 

Patriotism was inevitable in a jjlace of such 
heroic memories as Cambridge. It was not by 
accident that the first company received into 
the service of the Union in the war for the Union 
was a Cambridge company. It was not by 
accident that it was from Cambridge that the 
"Bigelow Papers" went out, and, by their 
mingled humor and reproach, ]jlcadcd the 
cause of freedom and brotherhood. It was not 
by accident that when the war was done, here 
was recited the "Commemoration Ode," the 
noblest lyric utterance that owns an American 
origin. In the war for the preservation of the 
Union, Cambridge furnished to the army 4,135 
men, and to the navy 453 men, which was about 
one-sixth of the entire population, and, as at the 
time of the Revolution, must have taken nearly 
every able-bodied man of military age in the 
community. To Cambridge belongs the honor 
of organizing the first company of United States 
Volunteers. Soon after the presidential election 
of 1860 it became apparent to far-seeing men 
that an irrepressible conflict was on foot. With 
patriotic energy James P. Richardson, great 
grandson of Moses Richardson, who fell at the 
battle of Lexington, organized a company of 
volunteers. When after the fall of Sumter 
President Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 
soldiers, on the very next morning Captain 
Richardson and ninety-five members of his 
company marched to the State House and re- 
ported for duty to Governor Andrew. There 
were ninety-seven men in the company that 
enlisted for three months ; and at the end of that 
time ninety-three of them re-enlisted for the 
war. In the words of one of these men, who 
expressed the feeling of all, he was "determined 
to go back to the seat of war and to fight till 
the war was over, and if need be he would leave 
his bones to bleach on Southern soil." The 
name of that man, Ed\vin T. Richardson, is 
inscrilDcd upon the soldiers' monument on the 
Common, one of twenty-one of this first com- 
pany, more than one in five, who ga\'e their 
lives for the country's salvation. 

Cambridge people are very loyal to their 
city. They are apt to share Mr. Lowell's 
opinion of his birthplace, "There is no place 



THE CITY 



127 







►J 

o 






< 



128 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



like it," he said, "no, not even for taxes." When 
he was ambassador in London, Mr. Lowell was 
asked if he did not long to visit Eg>'pt and see 
the works of Ramses. "No." he answered, 
"but I should like to see Ramsays in Harvard 
Square." Next to Lowell the most ardent 
lover of Cambridge was his particular crony, 
John Holmes, the brother of the "Autocrat," 
who "held his native town," said Mr. Howells, 
"in an idolatry which was not blind but which 
was none the less devoted bccaiise he was aware 
of her droll points and her weak points. He 
always celebrated these as so many virtues." 
His wit was as sparkling as that of his more 
famous brother, and he had equal kindliness 
with more of modesty. His fame is local, but 
he was the cherished companion of those who 
occupied a greater place in the public eye, and 
they acknowledged him their peer. 

Richard Henrys Dana was another scion of 
the best Cambridge stock, a blend of aristo- 
cratic inheritances with democratic principles, 
which is highly characteristic of the place. He 
was a lawyer in active practice in Boston and 
fulfilled the just expectations of his fellow citi- 
zens by the way in which he measvired up to 
every public duty. He was part of the history 
of the anti-sla\-ery movement and his rare gifts 
were always and everywhere at the ser\nce of 
the oppressed. The book of his sea-faring 
experiences, "Two Years Before the Mast," is 
a classic, and it probably has had a wider circu- 
lation than any American book, unless it be 
"Uncle Tom's Cabin." The well-deserved fame 
of that book has eclipsed the later reputation 
of its author as a noble-minded citizen and 
leader of public opinion, but Cambridge cherishes 
his renown, and in no small measure bears today 
the stamp of his public-spirited and progressive 
influence. 

Charles EHot Norton was another Cambridge- 
bom author of the same generation. He in- 
herited the beautiful estate of his father. Pro- 
fessor Andrews Norton, at Shady Hill, and 
there lived a life that came as near to the ideal 
as the conditions of the nineteenth century per- 
mitted. He was for many years Professor of Art 
in the University and kindled high ideals in the 
minds and hearts of two generations. He was 
the mediator between the best culture of the 
past and the active life of the present, inter- 



preting the Greek ideals to our hurrj'ing gen- 
eration, rebuking our materialism while he 
encouraged our better hopes. Ruskin and 
Carlyle were his European correspondents; 
Lowell and George William Curtis were his 
intimates. His contributions to literature only 
partially represent what he did for the humani- 
ties in America, for it was his creative sympathy 
that set the standards of our literary and artistic 
life and inspired the endeavors of artists and 
poets. He edited the letters of Ruskin and of 
Lowell, collected the orations of Curtis, wrote 
the biographical sketch of Longfellow, trans- 
lated Dante's "Divine Comedy," conducted 
the North American Review, and was the friend 
and helper of the leading men of letters in Eng- 
land and America. 

But Cambridge drew to itself many distin- 
guished men of letters who were not native born. 
It would be sufficient honor to be known as the 
birthplace of Lowell, Holmes, Higginson and 
their comrades, but there are names of equal 
distinction that are associated with the place. 
"We are potted plants here in Cambridge," 
said the witty Frances Wharton, explaining to 
an English visitor that the men of whom he 
inquired were not natives of Cambridge, but 
were drawn thither by its Lhiiversity and its 
kindred spirits. Hither in the fifties came from 
his Oxford fellowship and his principalship of 
University Hall in London, Arthur Hugh Clough. 
His stay was short, but it is good to remember 
the contact with the life of the community of a 
poet whose word, as Mr. Lowell said, "will be 
thought a hundreds year hence to have been 
the truest expression in verse of the moral and 
intellectual tendencies, the doubt and struggle 
toward settled convictions, of the period in which 
he lived." Hither came later Elisha Mulford, 
who brought with him the reputation built upon 
"The Nation," a book that sets forth his mas- 
terly interpretation of our federal union, and 
here he wrought upon his great conception of 
"The Republic of God," making in these books 
"two pillars for sustaining the great arch of our 
social philosophy." Christopher P. Cranch, a 
man with the soul of an artist and a gift of 
poesy, lived on Dana Hill, and joined a tuneful 
voice to the chorus of minor singers who met 
at Longfellow's table. He wrote good poetry, 
painted pictures that are not so good, and lived 



THE CITY 



129 




130 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



a life of genial simplicity and patient endurance 
under trouble. 

It was in December of 1836 that Mr. Long- 
fellow established himself in Cambridge, and 
entered upon the duties of the Smith professor- 
ship. He first roomed in the house of Dr. 
Stearns, on Kirkland Street— then called Pro- 
fessors' Row, where Cornelius Conway Felton, 
Professor of Greek and afterwards President 
of the College, was already established. Their 
acquaintance soon ripened into a wann friend- 
ship, which continued through life. Charles 
Sumner was then lecturing in the Law School, 
and with him sprang up an equally close and 
lifelong intimacy. George Stillman Hilliard, his 
law partner, and Henry R. Cleveland, then 
living at Jamaica Plain — both men of literary 
tastes— completed the friendly circle. These 
five young men formed themselves into what 
they came to call "The Five of Clubs." Some- 
what later on, when they began to write favor- 
able comments on each other's books in the 
Reviews, the newspapers gave them the name 
of "the Mutual Admiration Society." 

In Cambridge and Boston Mr. Longfellow 
was everywhere welcomed. His sunny presence, 
his native refinement, his cultivated mind and 
his growing reputation united to make a favorite. 
He was not exempt from some social criticism, 
particularly in the matter of dress, for he was 
fond of using bright colors in his waistcoats, 
and neck-ties. In 1837 he first occupied rooms 
at the Craigie house, where Mrs. Craigie took 
lodgers. Established in these comfortable 
quarters he ]Dursued with diligence his various 
occupations, academic, poetic and social. At 
the early dinner or the evening supper one or 
more of his friends were usually his companions. 
Felton was coming and going at all hours of the 
day, with some new book or criticism, or for 
friendly talk, prolonged into the night. Sumner 
and Hilliard came frequently from Boston, and 
often Allston and Palfrey were guests at the 
round table. In 1842 when Charles Dickens 
came over from London, there was a bright 
little breakfast, at which Felton's mirthfulness 
helped, and Andrews Norton's gravity did not 
in the least hinder, the exuberant liveliness of 
the author of "Pickwick." In 1843 Mr. Long- 
fellow married his second wife, and his father-in- 
law, Mr. Nathan Appleton, bought the Craigie 



house for their occupancy. It became the social 
and literary center of the community. Haw- 
thorne, Emerson, Lowell, Holmes, Agassiz, 
James T. Fields, Charles Eliot Norton were 
frequent visitors. What Emerson did for Con- 
cord that Longfellow did for Cambridge. He 
made it the port at which every ship that sailed 
the sea of literature was sure to put in. There 
is no house so much the object of pilgrimage 
as the beautiful mansion which so unites the 
memories of patriot and poet as to make each 
contribute to the other's fame. 

The pages of Longfellow's diary are set thick 
with the names of the people, great and small, 
who lifted the knocker at his hospitable door. 
In the journals we find the names, among others, 
of Thomas Hughes, James Anthony Froude, 
Anthony Trollope, Wilkie Collins, William Black, 
Charles Kingslcy and his daughter. Professor 
Bonamy Price, Dr. Plumtre, the admirable 
translator of Greek tragedies; Dean Stanley, 
Athanase Coquerel, Lord Houghton, Lord and 
Lady Dufferin, the Duke of Argyll, Salvini, 
who read to him scenes from Alfieri to his great 
delight; Madame Titjens, Christine Nilson, 
the Governor of Victoria; Admiral Coffin, of the 
British Navy ; and Lord Ronald Gower, who has 
given the story of his visit in company with Mr. 
Sam. Ward. When the Emperor Dom Pedro, 
of Brazil, was traveling half-incognito through 
the United States, he came to a dinner, having 
named the guests he would like to meet — 
Agassiz, Holmes, Emerson and Lowell. At the 
close of 1879, Ole Bull appeared from Norway, 
to spend the winter at Elmwood, reviving its 
relations with Craigie house, and delighting 
Mr. Longfellow alike with his music and his 
own charmingly simple and sincere nature. 

On one day the journal records "fourteen 
visits, thirteen of them Englishmen." All who 
came were received with unfailing kindness 
and courtesy, and a quick, instinctive adaptation 
of his conversation as to their measure. If, as 
was usual, they turned the conversation to his 
writings, he thanked them for the syinpathy, 
which gratified him, but very quickly and easily 
turned the talk to some other topic. Doubtless 
his courtesy and his kindness were often sub- 
jected to a heavy strain, by some who forgot 
the law of limits in the duration or frequency 
of their visits and their claims. Mr. Norton 



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131 




132 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



relates that he once gently remonstrated with 
his friend for suffering an unworthy protege to 
impose himself so long upon him; when he 
replied, with a humorous look, "Charles, who 
will be kind to him if I am not?" 

"The key to Mr. Longfellow's character," 
said his biographer, "was sympathy. This 
made him the gentle and courteous receiver of 
every visitor, however obscure, however tedious; 
the ready responder to every appeal to his pity 
and his purse; the kindly encourager of literary 
aspirants, however unpromising; the charitable 
judge of motives, and excuser of mistakes and 
offences; the delicate yet large liker; the lenient 
critic, quick to see every merit beyond every 
defect. This gave to his poetry the human ele- 
ment, which made thousands feel as if this jjocm 
or that verse was written for each of them espe- 
cially, and made in thousands of hearts in many 
lands a shrine of reverence and affection for 
his name." 

William Dean Howells came to live in Cam- 
bridge in 1866, first taking a "box of a house" 
on Sacramento Street, thence moving to Berke- 
ley Street, and finally building a house on Con- 
cord Avenue. His account of his Cambridge 
neighbors, printed in 1900, adds another charm- 
ing description of the characteristic life of the 
place. "Cambridge society," he wrote, "kept 
what was best of its village traditions, and chose 
to keep them in the full knowledge of different 
things. Nearly every one had been abroad; 
and nearly everyone had acquired the taste 
for olives without losing a relish for native 
sauces; through the intellectual life there was 
an entire democracy, and I do not believe that 
since the capitalistic era began there was ever 
a community in which money counted for less. 
There was little show of what money could buy ; 
I remember but one private carriage (naturally, 
a publisher's); and there was not one livery 
except a livery in the larger sense kept by the 
stableman Pike, who made us pay now a quarter 
and now a half dollar for a seat in his carriages, 
according as he lost or gathered courage for the 
charge. We thought him extortionate, and we 
mostly walked through snow and mud of amaz- 
ing depth and thickness. 

"The reader will imagine how acceptable this 
circumstance was to a young literary man be- 
ginning life w'ith a fully mortgaged house and a 



salary of untried elasticity. If there were dis- 
tinctions made in Cambridge they were not 
against literature, and we found ourselves in 
the midst of a charming society, indifferent, 
apparently, to all questions but those of the 
higher education which comes so largely by 
nature. That is to say, in the Cambridge of 
that day (and, I dare say, of this) a mind culti- 
vated in some sort was essential, and after that 
came ci\'il manners, and the willingness and 
ability to be agreeable and interesting; but the 
question of riches or poverty did not enter. 
Even the question of family, which is of so great 
concern in New England, was in abeyance. 
Perhaps it was taken for granted that every one 
in Old Cambridge society must be of good family, 
or he could not be there ; perhaps his mere resi- 
dence tacitly ennobled him; certainly his ac- 
ceptance was an infomial patent of gentility. 
To my mind, the structure of society was almost 
ideal, and until we have a perfectly socialized 
condition of things I do not believe we shall ever 
have a more perfect society. The instincts 
which governed it were not such as can arise 
from the sordid competition of interests; they 
flowed from a devotion to letters, and from a 
self-sacrifice in material things which I can give 
no better notion of than by saying that the out- 
lay of the richest college magnate seemed to be 
graduated to the income of the poorest. 

' ' In those days the men whose names have 
given splendor to Cambridge were still living 
there. I shall forget some of them in the alpha- 
betical enumeration of Louis Agassiz, Francis C. 
Child, Richard Henry Dana, Jun., John Fiske, 
Dr. Asa Gray, the family of the Jameses, father 
and sons, Lowell, Longfellow, Charles Eliot 
Norton, Dr. John G. Palfrey, James Pierce, 
Dr. Peabody, Professor Parsons, Professor 
Sophocles. The variety of talents and of 
achievements was indeed so great that Mr. 
Bret Harte, when fresh from his Pacific slope, 
justly said, after listening to a partial rehearsal 
of them, 'Why, you couldn't fire a revolver 
from your front porch an\Tvhere without bring- 
ing down a two-volumner!' Everybody had 
written a book, or an article, or a poem; or was 
in the process or expectation of doing it, and 
doubtless those whose names escape me will 
have greater difficulty in eluding fame. These 
kindly, these gifted folk each came to see us 



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134 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



and to make us at home among Ihem; and my 
home is still among them, on this side and on 
that side of the line between the living and the 
dead, which invisibly passes through all the 
streets of the cities of men." 

Some of these "kindly, gifted folk" have 
already been described. The others arc equally 
worthy of remembrance, for they made that 
Cambridge atmosphere that Howells enjoyed. 
Never was man more fitly named, "for no man 
ever kept here more perfectly and purely the 
heart of such as the Kingdom of Heaven is of," 
than Francis J. Child. His outward appear- 
ance, too, expressed the inner man as happily 
as his name. He was short of stature and round 
of body so that the students affectionately 
called him "Stubby." His eyes looked through 
his gold spectacles with naive" simplicity and 
directness, his thick sunny hair, which never 
grew gray, curled tightly over his head. His 
smile was infectious, and his face bore the 
brightness of inextinguishable youth. With 
playful humor and profound scholarship he 
taught the English language and literature and 
was the world's first expsrt in the study of 
English and Scottish balladry. He was a poet 
in nature, and he wrought with passion as well 
as knowledge in the achievement of as monu- 
mental a task as any American has performed. 
But he might have been less intellectually keen, 
and yet been precious to those who knew him 
for the gentleness and the goodness which in 
him were protected from misconception by a 
dignity as delicate and a reserve as inviolable 
as that of Longfellow himself. " He was," wTotc 
Mr. Howells, "most amusingly dramatic in 
reproducing the consciousness of certain in- 
effectual alumni who used to overwhelm him 
at Commencement solemnities with some such 
pompous acknowledgment as, "Professor Child, 
all that I have become, sir, I owe to your influ- 
ence in my college career." He did, with deli- 
cious mockery, the old-fashioned intellectual 
poseurs among the students, who used to walk 
the groves of Harvard with bent head, and the 
left arm crossing the back, while the other 
lodged its hand in the breast of the high-but- 
toned frock-coat; and I could fancy that his 
classes did not form the sunniest exposure for 
young folly and vanity." 

John Fiske made Cambridge his home not 



only because he had learned to love the town 
during his college years, but also because he 
found it the most congenial place for his literary 
work, and because there he found access to two 
of the largest libraries in America and many 
smaller special collections. A residence in 
Cambridge kept him also in neighborly relations 
with his publishers and in immediate connections 
with the printers of his books. As Mr. Fiske's 
house on Berkeley Street was the resort of those 
who loved to discourse of history and philosoj^hy 
and the arts, so the house of Charles Dcane on 
Sparks Street gathered people from all over the 
world who were interested in matters of genea- 
logical and antiquarian research. He, and 
later his own neighbor, Justin Winsor, the libra- 
rian of the University, were our foremost author- 
ities on the sources of American history and 
the maps and pictures, the family records, the 
original manuscripts and letters, which illustrate 
it. 

Henry James, ranked by no less a critic than 
Tolstoi as the keenest and most enlightening 
of American philosophers, lived on Quincy 
Street in the house now occupied by the Colonial 
Club, and his two sons have won an even larger 
fame, William as the foremost of American 
psychologists, and Henry as a novelist and man 
of letters. Horace E. Scudder lived on Buck- 
ingham Street and thence sent out his famous 
books for children. John Bartlett built a 
house on Brattle Street just above the Lee 
house. His indispensable "Famihar Quota- 
tions" made his name a household word in 
many American families. Admiral Charles H. 
Da\'is and later Colonel Theodore A. Dodge 
lived in the house on Quincy Street at the comer 
of Broadway. There Colonel Dodge wrote 
his treatises on the art of war and the story of 
many a campaign of the Cix-il War, and Admiral 
Davis there prepared the scientific papers that 
mads his name as well known in the world of 
higher mathematics as in the naval history of 
the Civil War. 

Then there was Joseph E. Worcester, the 
busy compiler of the great dictionary; William 
J. Rolfe, the erudite and genial Shakespearean 
scholar; William W. Newell, the foremost 
American authority on folk-lore; Alexander 
V. G. Allen, the biographer of Phillips Brooks 
and the historian of the "Continuity of Christian 



THE CITY 



135 




136 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Thought;" and Frank Bolles, who relieved his 
arduous and remarkable work at the College 
office by excursions into the country round 
about Cambridge and into the New Hampshire 
woods and hills. He was one of the lovers of 
wild life, whose books have opened the eyes and 
enriched the lives of our generation. 

It is of course the presence of the University 
that accounts for the Cambridge residence of 
such scientific leaders as the great geologist, 
Josiah D. WTiitney, the Sturgis Hooper Pro- 
fessor of Geology, long the head of the United 
States Geological Survey; of Josiah P. Cooke, 
the Er\nng Professor of Chemistry and one of 
the pioneers of chemical research in this country ; 
of Joseph Lovering, the HoUis Professor of 
Physics, whose lectures were dominated by a 
philosophy which kept them free of narrowness 
or technicality; and Nathanael S. Shaler, the 
inspiring teacher of ardent nature and remark- 
ably varied gifts of mind and heart. The Law 
School brought to Cambridge such famous 
teachers of the law as Theophilus Parsons, 
Emory Washburn, who also served as Governor 
of the Commonwealth; Christopher C. Langdell, 
who revolutionized the teaching of the law in 
this country; and his distinguished colleagues, 
James B. Thayer and James B. Ames. The 
Divinity School brought to Cambridge such 
scholars as Charles Carroll Everett, a theologian 
of exquisitely-balanced mind, keen insight and 
liberal spirit; Ezra Abbott, the most learned 
and kindly of Biblical critics, a well-remembered 
Cambridge figure, "alert, nervous and almost 
furtively shy, skimming along the walk, his 
eyes bent on his book, which he read as he 
walked; the deadly foe of error on the printed 
page, his own work as faultlessly accurate as 
his handwriting was unmistakably legible;" 
and his successor, Joseph Henry Thayer, the 
editor of the monumental dictionary of the New 
Testament Greek and the American member 
of the distinguished company that prepared 
and published the Revised Version of the Bible. 
Finally, we should recall the courtly presence 
of Charles Folsom, who, wrote Mr. Scudder, 
"well deserved the English title of corrector of 
the press, but whose chastening for the time 
seemed scarcely joyous to the printer as he waited 
impatiently for the proof-sheets which Mr. 
Folsom carried around in his pocket till he 



could, after long search in the libraries of the 
neighborhood, relieve them of possible errors 
of statement. Of the same indefatigable temper 
in exorcising the black art was George Nichols, 
for whose aid Lowell stipulated when he under- 
took to edit The Atlantic Monthly. It would 
be hard to overestimate the value of these two 
subterranean builders of literature. Their own 
craft recognized their power ; every author whose 
books passed through their hands blessed them, 
with occasional lapses, and the reputation which 
the great printing-offices of Cambridge enjoy 
is due largely to the standard which these men 
raised, and to the traditions which they estab- 
Hshed." 

These are a few of the names among the dead 
that give distinction to modem Cambridge as a 
literary center. It would be invidious to dis- 
tinguish among the living, nor is it prudent, for 
though some names could be mentioned that 
may safely now be added to the roll of honor 
in American letters, who knows what names 
there are which need but a little more time to 
carry them into higher niches than now are 
occupied ? The alcove in the Cambridge library 
which holds the books of Cambridge authors 
is but a beginning of a literary treasure-house, 
for there is a contagion of literattare, and though 
Cambridge becomes more urban with each 
decade, there is that about a bookish community 
which stimulates literary endeavor. To prove 
that traditions are well maintained let it suffice 
to mention the names of Charles W. Eliot, 
George H. Palmer and Josiah Royce, the phi- 
losophers; of Edward Channing and Albert B. 
Hart, the American historians; of William R. 
Thayer, the biographer of Cavour and the 
historian of Italy; of preachers and essayists 
like Samuel M. Crothers, John O'Brien, George 
Hodges and Michael J. Doody; of writers on 
social ethics like Francis G. Peabody and John 
Graham Brooks; of interpreters one to the other 
of Germany and America like Kuno Francke 
and Hugo Munsterberg; of critics and inspirers 
of the literary art like Bliss Perry and George 
P. Baker; of economists like Frank W. Taussig; 
of educational guides and prophets like LeBaron 
R. Briggs; of leaders in the world of science 
like John Trowbridge and William M. Davis 
and Theodore W. Richards; of poets Hke 
Jeannette Peabody Marks. 



THE CITY 



137 




138 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



It is true of Cambridge as Emerson said of of men of principle, obeying a sentiment and 

Boston: " It is not an accident, nor a windmill, marching loyally whither that should lead 

or a railroad station, or a cross-roads tavern, them; so that its annals are great historical 

or an army barracks grown up by time and luck lines, inextricably national, parts of the history 

to a place of wealth; but a seat of humanity, of political liberty." 













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The HEMtNWAN G\mnasium 





THE CITY 



139 




XI 

THE OUTLOOK 



CAMBRIDGE has not the natural attrac- 
tions of many of the other towns and 
cities of the MetropoHtan district. Its 
territory is comparatively flat and in natural 
beauty it is inferior to the varied charm of 
Winchester, Medford or Milton. The Cam- 
bridge streets cannot be compared with those 
of Brookline, nor the houses with those which 
cluster on the hillsides overlooking the Chestnut 
Hill reservoir. What is it that gives Cambridge 
her prestige? Is it not such institutions, such 
events, such lives, as those that are recorded 
in this book? It is the human element in the 
landscape 
that gives it 
its charm. 
The town 
■where the 
•first college 
in the land 
was planted, 
where the 
first church 
council was 
held, where 
the first 
printing- 
press was set 
up and the 
first book 
printed; the 
dwelling- 
place of the 

Puritan leaders in Church and State, the scene 
of many of the noteworthy events in the colonial 
history of New England; the point where the 
British soldiers began their march to Lexing- 
ton at the opening of the Revolution; the soil 
on which occurred some of the hardest fighting 
of that eventful day; the gathering-place and 
headquarters of the patriot army during the 
siege of Boston; the point of departure for 
the epoch-making battle of Bunker Hill; the 
place where Washington took command of 
the American amiv: the sender-forth of the 




CH.\RLES RIVER ROAD 



first company to be received into the service 
of the nation in its struggle to destroy slavery 
and keep the Union whole; an intellectual 
center uncqualcd on the hither side of the 
Atlantic; the home of three of our most famous 
poets, and the place where so many renowned 
scholars and men of letters have done their 
work; a community always plain, simple and 
democratic in its social habits and believing 
in intelligence and character above all other 
things, — it is obvious that Cambridge is a place 
of which its citizens may well be proud. 
It is not the part of an historian to also play 

the prophet, 
but the 
record of 
Cambridge 
is not yet 
ended, and 
it may be 
possible at 
the close of 
this review 
of an honor- 
able past, to 
point out 
some of the 
immed i a t e 
needs and 
obligations 
or the pos- 
sible future 
perils of the 
community. For most people the next thing 
is more interesting than the last thing. WTiat 
we want is more fascinating than what we have. 
Ci\'ic pride is a quick soil in which to grow 
civic patriotism^ When men glory in the his- 
tory of their city, in its beauty, its influence, 
its famous men and great institutions, it is 
comparatively easy to inspire sacrifice in order 
to render the present worthy of so great a past. 
The great classic centers of civilization and the 
free cities of the Middle Ages could command 
the enthusiastic devotion of their people, who 



THE OUTLOOK 



141 



were proud of their citizenship. Most Ameri- 
can cities exist under radically different con- 
ditions. Their past is not old enough to be 
overgrown and beautified by legend and ro- 
mance as ancient castles are with ivy. There 
is no twilight to stimulate the imagination. 
There is as little in their past to gratify men's 
love of the heroic as there is in their present 
to satisfy the sense of the beautiful. Cambridge 
is exceptionally fortunate in this respect. But 
like all Americans its people look forward more 
readily than backward. It is not simply be- 
cause of the heroic generations which have 
gone, but because of those which are to come, 
that Cambridge appeals to the imagination. 
The future is more roomy than the past, and 
we may bave part 
in its historj', for 
it is even now in 
the making. 

Americans are 
free to have the 
kind of civic de- 
velopment and 
administration 
they want. They 
get the kind of 
government which 
they deserve to 
get. In no other 
civilized country 
is municipal gov- 
ernment so com- 
pletely within the 
control of public 

opinion. Everywhere else there are deeply- 
rooted habits, long-established customs, much- 
respected vested rights and cherished prejudices 
to be dealt with, before any satisfactory frame- 
work of city government can be set up. In 
America the situation is absolutely controlled 
by popular sentiment. There is comparatively 
white paper to write on. Our cities, therefore, 
might easily have been made the model cities 
of the modem world. It is America which 
ought to have shown the Old World how to live 
comfortably in great masses in one place. We 
have no city walls to pull down, or ghettos to 
clear out, or guilds to buy up, or privileges to 
extinguish. We have simply to provide, in our 
own way, according to the latest experience in 



WELLINGTON SCHOOL 



business, art and science, the facilities, comforts 
and conditions which will enable large bodies 
of free men to live contentedly together within 
a certain more or less artificially restricted area. 
The problems of transportation, light, water, 
fire and police protection, health, education, 
recreation, are all fundamental to city life. 
These services are the life-blood of the com- 
munity. The law recognizes the rights of 
individuals to control many of these enter- 
prises, but humanity is more important than 
private gain. The citizens of Cambridge must 
increasingly give attention to the things that 
are beyond the immediate necessities of today 
and plan their city so as to destroy what is ugly, 
promote what is beautiful, protect the poor, 

educate the chil- 
dren and upbuild 
the convenience 
and well-being of 
the entire c om - 
munity. In Cam- 
bridge, as in most 
American cities, 
there is a com- 
plicated division 
of responsibility 
about these mat- 
ters. The munici- 
palitj' is almost 
solely responsible 
for the assessing 
and collection of 
taxes, for the care 
of the streets, side- 
walks, bridges and public buildings, for the 
supervision of elections and the registry of 
\'0ters, for fire and police protection, ' for the 
supply of water, for the sewers and drains, and 
for various minor services of a public nature 
such as the collection of ashes and garbage, 
the inspection of milk and other foods, the 
issuing of licenses and the verification of weights 
and measures. The city is primarily responsible 
for the care of the public health, for the educa- 
tion of the children, for providing jjarks, play- 
grounds and opportunities for recreation, for 
the relief of the destitute and for the mainte- 
nance of cemeteries; but in all these functions 
the public agencies have the aid of many private 
institutions and volunteer organizations. Trans- 




142 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 




-..--^Y --■'■'*. TC-Ti- r V V. v,/>r-. ,.- 



portation facilities, lighting, telephone and tele- 
graph service, and all building operations arc 
in Cambridge carried on by private corpora- 
tions or individuals under more or less municipal 
supervision or restraint. 

The administration of the city is vested in a 
mayor and a city council consisting of a Board 
of Aldermen of eleven members and a common 
council of twenty-two members. The schools 
are in charge of a special school committee of 
five members. The various functions of the 
city govern- 
ment indicated 
by the names 
of the different 
departments ; 
Executive, City 
Clerk, Treasury, 
Auditing, Mes- 
senger, Law, 
Engineering, 
Fire, Inspection 
of Buildings, 
Health, Police, 
Street, Asses- 
sors, Electrical, 
Inspection of 
Animals, Bridge, 
School, Ceme- 
tery, Public 
Library, Water 
Works, Park, 
Registry of 
Votes, Over- 
seers of the Poor, 
Sinking Fund, 
Soldier's Aid, 
and various 
special trusts or 
inspectorships. 

This list indicates not only the variety of the 
functions discharged by the municipality, but 
also by its omissions it reveals how many public 
needs are still left to be met by private initiative. 

As Cambridge has become more densely 
populated, all the problems of administration 
multiply in number and complexity. A mis- 
take is further reaching ; it has a longer leverage ; 
and as efficient government grows more essen- 
tial it becomes increasingly difficult. To ad- 
minister the affairs of a village of a thousand 



-rp^! 




WARE STREET 



inhabitants requires only ordinary intelligence 
and integrity, but the government of a city of 
a hundred thousand people demands expert 
knowledge, ability and character of the highest 
order. Cambridge has almost always been 
able to command the services of high-minded 
men to serve the public interests and there is 
a well-established tradition of efficiency in most 
of the city departments. 

The street plan of Cambridge grew naturally 
and followed the lines of public convenience. 

It escaped the 
miserable check- 
erboard plan of 
so many unfor- 
tunate Ameri- 
can cities. The 
main arteries 
radiate from the 
principal bridges 
and while rea- 
sonably direct 
are by no means 
monotonous. 
The curves of 
Brattle Street 
following the 
original lines of 
the ri\'er and the 
marsh are pecu- 
liarly charming. 
Massachusetts 
Avenue turns 
not infrequently 
and opens op- 
portunities for 
vistas and for 
the location of 
handsome 
buildings denied 
to a perfectly straight street. 

Cambridge is also fortunate in the charac- 
teristic names of many of its streets. The 
hopeless prosaic system of numerical or alpha- 
betical names has been completely avoided. 
The local color has been preserved. Many of 
the street names, as we saw in the opening 
chapter of this book, preserve the local history 
and traditions, remind us of the men and women 
of distinction who have lived in Cambridge and 
record the community's interests and admira- 




THE OUTLOOK 



143 



tions. It would be a good plan if simple and 
permanent tablets setting forth briefly the 
careers of the men for whom the streets are 
named could be placed at the comers of many 
of the streets. 

There is, however, a present peril which 
should be promptly met. In the newer parts 
of the city real estate speculators are laying 
out new streets without any regard to beauty 
or right adjustment to the neighboring streets. 
Patchwork improvements which disregard the 
plan of adjacent districts will soon disfigure 
what might be a well-designed and interrelated 
street design. The city needs to take such 
situations in hand and to avoid the oversights 
and mistakes that will follow inaction. The 
Engineering De- 
partment should 
forestall the action 
of private owners 
and adopt a com- 
prehensive plan 
for new streets. 
It is increasingly 
difficult to remedy 
a bad plan after it 
has once been 
adopted. 

Ainerican cities 
have expended a 
great deal of 
energy and money 
in curing the mis- 
takes of the past. 
They need to give 
more attention 

to pre\'enting the unnecessary rejaetition of the 
same evils. The future should not be taken 
at haphazard. Too often the municipality 
is listless or inert. Railroad approaches must 
be made right; grade crossings eliminated; 
adequate highway lines established; public 
buildings conveniently grouped; open spaces 
secured. In order to do this it is indisjjensable 
to recognize the value of expert judgment. 
"The people," said John Stuart Mill, "should 
be masters employing servants more skilful 
than themselves." 

The main highways of Cambridge are subject 
to unusually severe treatment. They must 
carry not only the largest traffic of the city 




itself, but an enormous amount of traffic which 
simply passes through the city. Automobiles, 
trucks, market wagons, expresses and pleasure 
vehicles of all kinds use the Cambridge streets 
in passage to and fro between Boston and the 
towns and cities lying to the west and north. 
The towns that are thus accommodated pay 
nothing toward the maintenance of the Cam- 
bridge pavements and bridges and the wear and 
tear is excessive. The best and most expensive 
pavements must be used in Cambridge if its 
streets are to be kept in decent order, and these 
pavements must be constantly kept in repair 
and thoroughly cleaned. In 1911 a special 
commission made a comprehensive report to 
the City Government and laid out a plan of 

action for ten years 
ahead. 

The report of 
the Commission 
recominends the 
construction in the 
near future of a 
much larger pro- 
portion of durable 
Ijavements than 
have been previ- 
ously provided 
and the provision 
oi several well- 
paved parallel 
thoroughfares. 
It recommends the 
prompt and thor- 
ough repair of 
defects in the 
street service and the strict supervision of the 
excavation and refilling of trenches. It ad\'0- 
cates sj'stematic, frequent and thorough clean- 
ing of the streets and the adoption and efficient 
execution of scientific methods of dust laying. 
The adoption of these recommendations will 
add greatly to the comfort of the people. 

The schools have always been the special 
pride of the city. A complete course of edu- 
cation is provided from the Kindergarten up 
to the High and Latin Schools. There is a 
school for training teachers, a famous manual 
training school, and thirty-one grammar and 
primary schools. The buildings are for the 
most part modem and satisfactory in regard 



H.^RV.ARD SCHOOL 



144 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



to lighting, ventilation and safety from fire. 
Some of the old buildings need more or less 
reconstmction. A few of the buildings are 
without proper yards, but in the majority of 
cases there is ample room for the play and 
physical development of the children. The 
school buildings should be further used as social 
centers, and as soon as financial arrangements 
can be made the facilities the buildings offer 
can be more largely utilized in the evenings. B>- 
arrangement with Harvard College, free tuition in 
their freshman year is offered to Cambridge boys 
from the High and Latin School whose parents 




HOUGHTON SCHOOL 

cannot afford to pay their expenses in college; 
and the university athletic fields are as far as 
possible offered as playgrounds for Cambridge 
children in summer. The policy of the School 
Board has been almost always broad-minded 
and far-sighted and devoted to the welfare of 
the children. 

The public library is an important factor in 
the educational life of the community. It 
co-operates closely with the schools, maintains 
traveling libraries and deposit stations in differ- 
ent parts of the city, and substantial branches 
in East Cambridge and in North Cambridge. 
The total nimiber of books is a little less than 
one hundred thousand, and the circulation is 
more than three times that number. 

The fire fighting force of the city is adequate 
and competent. The Department as now 
organized consists of seven steam engine com- 
panies, four chemical engine companies and four 



ladder companies. There is a force of ninety- 
two permanent men and forty-six call men. 

In the Police Department there is also a grati- 
fying condition. Cambridge maintains a larger 
police force than almost any other city of its 
size in the country, not because it is conspicuous 
for crime, but because it believes in adequate 
protection. The Department consists of a chief, 
four captains, four inspectors, eight lieutenants, 
twelve sergeants, one hundred and two patrol- 
men, twenty-two reserve patrolmen, eight wagon 
and ambulance drivers and two matrons. 

In health statistics Cambridge ranks among 
the highest of American cities. The Water 
Department has always been ably administered 
and the water supply is pure and wholesome. 
The record of Cambridge brings additional 
testimony to the fact that even in a densely 
settled commvinity urban conditions are usually 
better for health than country conditions. Cam- 
bridge has an entirely satisfactory system of 
sewerage. It maintains a hospital for contagious 
diseases and a special tuberculosis hospital. 
The Cambridge Hospital with its contagious 
wards and the Stillman Infirmary of Harvard 
College are under private control, but available 
for the use of many citizens. The District 
Nursing Association is another private corpora- 
tion which greatly aids in preserving the high 
standards of health and promoting sanitation. 

The care of the poor is under the direction of 
a Board of Overseers. There have been times 
when there were very few cases of destitution 
in the city. Of recent years some four hundred 



t '1 







MORSE SCHOOL 



people have annually found shelter at the City 
Home, and perhaps two hundred more have 
been under the charge of the City at various 
other hospitals and institutions. The private 
institutions and relief societies do a large benefi- 
cent work. 



THE OUTLOOK 



145 



The territory of Cambridge is four and a 
half miles long and from one to two miles wide. 
Across the center of the city runs the modest 
elevation known as Dana Hill. To the east 
the surface is level and was fonnerly meadow 
and marsh. To the west the land is a trifle 
higher, though never much above the old high- 
tide levels until near the western boundary of 
the city, where there is another line of low hills 
running northeasterly from the Mount Auburn 
tower, over the elevation \\'here the Reser\'oir 
formerly stood, by the hill now crowned by 
the dome of the Harvard Obser\'atory, and 
terminating in what was fonnerly known as 
Gallows Hill just west of Massachusetts Avenue. 



that should be more amply availed of and pre- 
sented. The charm or significance of a city 
is in something more than the picturesqueness 
of its surroundings. 

In one respect Cambridge is topographically 
fortunate. At either end of the city there is a 
large pennanent body of water, and along the 
entire southern boundary stretches another 
pennanent open space, the channel of the 
Charles River. At the eastern end of the city 
the Charles Ri\'er Basin forms a great water 
park of more than five hundred acres, and at 
the western end the Fresh Pond basin makes 
another natural water park of some three htm- 
dred acres. Both of these areas, as well as the 




H.\RV.\RD BRIDGE 



The territory is comparati\-ely lacking in dis- 
tinction or picturesque features. There are 
no rugged crags like those which contribute 
such regal possibilities to the Riverside Drive 
in New York; no mountain such as rises behind 
the city of Montreal ; no panorama of a snowclad 
range such as greets the eye from Capitol Hill 
in Denver; no outlook across a shining lake to 
distant mountains as at Burlington, Vt. There 
is no superb Castle Rock such as dominates 
the site of Edinburgh, no Acropolis, no Cathe- 
dral-crowned hilltop. The site of Cambridge 
is comparatively commonplace and yet there 
are opportunities of beauty and attractiveness 



banlc of the Charles River for nearly its entire 
length, are now public reservations of inesti- 
mable value. 

In his epoch-making report of 1893 upon the 
Park development of the Metropolitan District, 
Charles Eliot first drew public attention to 
these advantages and showed how they should 
and could be preserved. In his special report 
of the same year to the newly organized Cam- 
bridge Park Commission he pointed out how 
the river bank should be utilized and what other 
properties should be acquired for public use. 
He first recommended the acquisition by the 
city of the river frontage at the extreme eastern 



146 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



end of the city between the two canals which 
penetrate the manufacturing district of East 
Cambridge. He advocated a water front reser- 
vation of considerable breadth and available 
for the recreation of a crowded population. 
This reservation, which he called "The Front," 
would extend nearly 1,500 feet along the river 
bank and be enclosed by a sea wall. Provision 
was to be made for children's games and for 
boating on the river. 

Next there was pointed out the \-alue of the 
public esplanade, already planned by the Cam- 
bridge Embankment Company, which provided 
an avenue and promenade 200 feet wide along 
the whole river front between the Cambridge and 



In order to complete this admirable park 
development it is still necessary to provide for 
finishing the river parkway between Captain's 
Island and the Western Avenue Bridge. Most 
of the work has been done, and it is to be hoped 
that within another year the incomplete section 
between River Street and Western Avenue will 
be constructed. This is the most expensive 
part of the parkway, as it involves some re- 
arrangement of the buildings of the Riverside 
Press and the Cambridge Electric Light Com- 
pany. 

It will next be necessary to provide connec- 
tions between this attractive river parkway, 
which will become the chief highway for pleasure- 




THE NEW CAMBRIDGE BRIDGE 



the Brookline bridges. Above the Brookline 
Bridge, Mr. Eliot recommended the acquisition 
of the whole of the Captain's Island property 
with the marshes about it for a playground and 
a bathing beach. From Captain's Island to 
the Cambridge Hospital he recommended a 
continuous river front parkway and the acqui- 
sition of the bordering marshes. These prop- 
erties, together with two inland fields, the Rindge 
Field in North Cambridge and the Binney Field, 
now known as the Cambridge Field, in East 
Cambridge, were rapidly secured, and the fields 
have since been laid out as attractive recreation 
parks. 



driving and automobiling, and the more thickly 
settled centers of the city. Particularly a park- 
way connection should be made between the 
river parkway and Quincy Square along the 
line of the present DeWolf Street. This will 
provide a much-needed driving connection be- 
tween the grounds of Harvard College and 
Boston. 

Still another improvement is the opening of 
a boulevard or parkway which will connect 
the Harvard Bridge with the Wellington Bridge 
in Somerville. At present traffic and pleasure- 
driving between Boston and the northern sub- 
urbs has to find its way through an intricate 



THE OUTLOOK 



147 



labyrinth of streets, either in the North End of 
Boston and Charlestown or in Cambridgeport 
and Somerville. The MetropoHtan Commission 
has made excellent plans for the proposed park- 
way, and these plans should be carried out as 
soon as financial conditions permit. 

Finally, the Fresh Pond Parkway should be 
promptly extended through the marshes at the 
north of Fresh Pond to connect with the park- 
way now under construction along Alewife 
Brook and the Mystic River. This will give 
a complete circumferential road for pleasure- 
driving, and connect the great Metropolitan 
park reservations to the south of the Charles 
with those to the north of the river. 



enlargement is needed at the Boston end of the 
bridge to provide space to allow the traffic to 
be distributed. The Charles River Parkway 
further needs, for the sake of Boston traffic 
solely, to be extended through this new square 
in a broad, direct street following the line of 
Parkman and Fruit Streets, Sudbury Place and 
Eaton Street to the North Station. There is 
no street improvement in Boston more urgently 
needed than this direct connection between 
the North Station and the Cambridge Bridge 
and the Charles River Parkway. The present 
narrow, crooked and inconvenient connections 
are disgracefully insufficient. 

After the completion of the Park developments, 




THE VI.\DUCT 
(Over the Charles; from Boston to East Cambridge) 



One of the most sorely-needed street improve- 
ments which affect the interests of Cambridge 
lies wholly within the limits and jurisdiction 
of Boston. The approach to the Cambridge 
Bridge at the junction of Cambridge and Charles 
Streets is utterly squalid and inadequate. The 
approaching streets are less than half the width 
of the bridge and are further blocked by the 
piers of the Elevated Railroad. It is impossible 
for the bridge to perfonn its traffic duties effi- 
ciently through such a cramped entrance and 
exit, and the dignity of the design of the bridge 
is sadly marred by this incongruous and ill- 
related approach. Evidently a considerable 



the question of new bridges must have atten- 
tion. A good bridge requires not only strength 
and durability, but also fitness and beauty. 
The dam at Craigie Bridge and the Cambridge 
Bridge are fine and permanent structures, but 
the rest of the bridges over the Charles are 
temporary in construction and wholly lacking 
in artistic merit. The Boylston Street Bridge 
must be first attended to, and there is a splendid 
opportunity there for the building of a bridge 
which shall be worthy of the place. It is the 
site of the original "Great Bridge," and it is 
the highway which connects Cambridge with 
all the region on the south of the river. It has, 



148 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



too, new significance as the connection between 
the grounds and buildings of Harvard College in 
Cambridge and the Stadium and athletic grounds 
on the Boston side of the river. The bridges 
at Western Avenue, River Street and Brookline 
Street are poor wooden structures which are 
constantly in need of repair and quite unworthy 
of the beautiful water park which they span. 
They should be replaced as soon as possible 
by stone or steel bridges of handsome and reason- 
ably uniform design. To reduce the cost of 
such thoroughfares, Boston and Cambridge 
should carefully consider the feasibility of sub- 
stituting earth causeways for portions of the 
bridge structures. A third to a half the cost 
of a continuous bridge between the present 
embankment lines might be saved by such 
earthworks. The 
interspaces be- 
tween the bridges 
might be re- 
deemed from mo- 
notony by cause- 
ways planted with 
trees and shrvib- 
bery, and their 
margins devoted to 
fuller recreative 
use by taking ad- 
vantage of em- 
bankments in- 
tended to reduce 
the cost of the 
bridging opera- 
tions. Earth causeways of this kind, if used 
as peninsulas to shorten the actual water space 
to be spanned, would place the bridges in mid- 
stream and produce a scries of basins not unlike 
the Alster Basins at Hamburg, while if these 
causeways were placed in mid-stream like islands 
and connected with the Boston and Cambridge 
shores by short bridges, an effect would be pro- 
duced like that to be seen in the rivers which 
contain the Isle de la Cite at Paris, the Island at 
Geneva, or the Kohlen-Islen of Munich. If 
these mid-stream islands were connected with 
one another to form one island of greater length, 
its recreative service would be immensely in- 
creased, and the appearance of the lower basin 
would be controlled largely by it rather than 
by the bridge stnictures and their approaches. 



'^^ 


flPTOfiP 


t». 


4Pi 


L 






KELLEY SCHOOL 



This disposition of the earthworks would leave 
the present margins of the basin uninterrupted 
and would not interfere with convenient along- 
shore passenger boat traffic or pleasure boating, 
although the headroom under the bridges could 
not be so great as with the peninsula treatment. 
On the other hand, the peninsulas would in- 
terrupt the continuity of the present embank- 
ments and force pleasure and passenger boating 
into the mid-stream of the basin. The service 
of tree-planted earthworks of either kind, to 
check the winds of the basin and to make its 
use for skating and boating more popular would 
be important. 

When the trees are grown, the bridges built, 
and stately buildings, such as those planned 
for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 

have arisen on the 
^ embankment, the 
basin and channel 
of the Charles 
will become the 
great center of the 
Metropolitan Dis- 
trict. It will have 
a distinction which 
will be comparable 
only to the splen- 
did quays and 
bridges of the 
Seine at Paris, and 
the m a g n i fi c e n t 
promenades which 
extend for three 
miles along the Danube at Budapest. 

The growth of a city should have the same 
oversight that an architect gives to the erection 
of a building. The liberty of the individual 
to do what he pleases with his own property 
ought not to be permitted to become a detri- 
ment to the convenience or attractiveness of 
the community as a whole. Town planning 
has become a science. In many European and 
American cities large dreams of city planning 
have been worked into practical success. Care- 
ful attention is given to the topography, the 
natural advantages, the best uses to which each 
district of the city should be put. The prevailing 
winds are studied, and factories permitted to lo- 
cate only in certain prescribed areas. Some sec- 
tions are devoted primarih'' to business and 



THE OUTLOOK 



149 



others to residences. Streets, parks, open spaces, 
play-grounds, sites for public buildings and 
schoolhouses are arranged for in advance of 
the city's growth. The orderly development 
of the whole municipality is the first considera- 
tion. Everything must be done for the good 
of the community at large. The health, beauty 
and comfort of the whole city stand higher than 
the individual rights of the land speculators 
or the builders of factories and tenements. 

Competent town planning is carried into many 
details. There must be no telegraph or tele- 
phone wires overhead, but they must be placed 
in conduits underground. There must be no 
obtruding street railway tracks under foot. 




PE.^BOUY SCHOOL 



The tracks must be of a pattern which will 
offer no obstruction to trafhc. The street 
pavements should be of the most approved 
quality and kept thoroughly cleaned and re- 
paired. The sewers must be in the center of 
the streets, but the gas, water, light and tele- 
phone conduits placed under the sidewalks 
close to the building line. It should never be 
necessary to block a street or tear up the pave- 
ment in order to get access to them. Business 
signs should be under public control so that they 
be inoffensive, and bill-boards should be pro- 
hibited or limited to certain districts only. 
Smoke ordinances shotild be rigidly enforced. 
In a city like Cambridge special provision should 
be made for recreation on the water front, where 
landing stages should be provided for pleasure 
sailing, rowing and motor boating, and in the 
winter for skating and ice-boating. 



Such a regulation of a city plan and adminis- 
tration permits sufficiently free plaj' for indi- 
vidual initiative, but it subordinates the in- 
terests of property to those of humanity. It 
reserves to the city the right to determine where 
the hberty of the individual must yield to the 
good of the community. The whole design 
and administration must be directed to the 
task of upbuilding the health and happiness 
of all the people. It has been abundantly 
proved that careful attention to these matters 
also promotes industrial prosperity. A hand- 
some and well-planned city attracts an ever- 
increasing population. It draws to itself busi- 
ness. People choose a beautiful city as a place 
where they wish to live. Good schools make 
better citizens. Parks and playgrounds pro- 
mote health and morality. A handsome city 
well planned and well administered pays in 
the current coin of commerce and also in the 
cheerfulness and the well-being of all the citi- 
zens. 

Another improvement which will make life 
in Cambridge healthier and happier is more 
ample provisions for playgrounds. We are 
coming to understand that play is not simply 
something that children like to have, but some- 
thing they must have. Playgrounds are not a 
luxury but a necessity in a modem city. The 
City has recently established a Playground 
Commission, and both the needs and the possi- 
bilities have been carefully studied. The Com- 
mission has purchased and contracted for various 
available land for playground pixrposes, mostly 
in connection with schools, and it is developing 
some of the older properties held by the City. 
The plans of the Commission provide for three 
types of playgrounds. In the first place, there 
should be a considerable nuinber of small play- 
grounds well distributed over the city so that 
little children need not be obliged to travel too 
far from home. The schoolhouse land is very 
well adapted for this type of plaj-ground. In 
the second place, it is necessary to provide larger 
playgrounds for the boys and young men, which 
should also be well distributed, though not so 
numerous as the children's grounds. In the 
third place, there should be recreation parks. 
These should include the types previously men- 
tioned, but in addition should offer opportunity 
for field days for the schools, for competition 



150 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



in all the best forms of outdoor sports, and be 
the natural center for the observance of local 
and national celebrations. 

"The details of development of these play- 
grounds," said Mayor Barry in his address of 




RUSSELL SCHOOL 

1911, "are comprehensive. Playgrounds are 
to be enclosed by suitable fences. Enclosures 
are to be set off within the fields. Halls are 
to be erected as a protection from the heat of 
summer and the cold of winter. These halls 
may also be used at night for various forms of 
recreation for young men and women who are 
obliged to work during the day, and afford a 
place for dancing under sanitary and moral 
conditions in place of the unsanitary dance-halls 
into which our young people are often forced, 
with danger to both health and morals. Nursery 
corners are to be fitted out with sand-boxes, 
wading pools, baby-hammocks and other suit- 
able means of amusement and instruction. 
Children's departments will contain teeters, 
merry-go-rounds, swings and slides. Girls' 
fields are to be set apart for the enjoyment and 
physical development of the girls. Baseball dia- 
monds, tennis courts, running tracks, bleachers, 
skating rinks, coasting inclines and gymnastic 
apparatus of various kinds are to be provided. 
"Captain's Island, because of its size, its 
accessibiUty, and its situation on the river, 
offers the best opportunity for the main recrea- 
tion park of the city of Cambridge. It is there- 
fore necessary to have on this park, not only 
the usual children's corners, the usual oppor- 
tunity for girls' play, the activities of our young 
school athletes, our high school boys, but also 
features which will offer opportunity for whole- 
some recreation for the men and women of the 



city. There shall be something which shall 
attract parents as well as children. The first 
development needed is an enclosed athletic 
field which will best be constructed in the form 
of a stadium. Inside of this stadium there will 
be a regvdar running track, regular athletic 
field and a football field. On each side of this 
stadium will be situated a regular diamond, 
each with bleachers accommodating many 
iiundreds of spectators. At the street side of a 
harbor will be situated a boat house. There 
should be an extension of the present bathing 
facilities. It is proposed to build a large open- 
air structure, as well as a building suitable for 
girls' gymnastics; also a girls' field properly 
equipped. 

"Dividing the diamonds on the main field 
and backing the stadium the main recreation 
building of this park will be situated. It will have 
a large shelter on each side. A music pavilion 
will be in the top of the structure and a band 
concert woidd readily be enjoyed by all of the 
people all over the park and along the river 
front; and the whole of Captain's Island should 
be fenced in to offer absolute control of the whole 
area." 

These judicious plans prove that it is under- 
stood that children not only need a place to 
play, but also some guidance in the conduct of 
their play. 

There is one peril which Cambridge is likely 
to encounter very soon. Increasing density 
of population will mean increase of land values 
and of rents, and the people will be packed in 
closer and closer quarters. All modem cities 
tend to multiply houses designed for more than 
one family. There is nothing inherently ob- 
jectionable in the two-family, three-family or 
even the ten-family type of dwelling. It is 
well nigh the universal form of dwelling in 
European cities. It is increasingly the form 
in American cities. The objection to such 
houses lies only in pennitting them to be built 
without proper regulation. It is already true 
that every American city has on its hands a 
serious housing problem. Tenement houses 
spring up before adequate restrictions have been 
thought of by the commimity. Rapidly evils 
develop: unhealthy premises, dark rooms, over- 
crowding, excessive rents, and other deplorable 
manifestations of the social life of modem cities 




Chukch of the 15le.ssed Sackajiext 



Charles R. Greco. ArchiUcl 



W-- >i 




Thorxdike School 

Charles R. Greco. Architect 



THE OUTLOOK 



151 



Some of the evils are peculiar to a single com- 
munity, but most of them sooner or later are 
found in all cities. The chief underlying fact 
is that in nearly every case they are due to 
unnecessary neglect. There is usually a failure 
on the part of the municipality and of the citi- 
zens to recognize evil tendencies in their early 
stages. There is often an unwarranted feeling 
of confidence that all is right when they see 
little that is going wrong, or a false civic pride 
which deludes itself into thinking that every- 



domestic life. When a man has a home of 
his own he has ever>' incentive to be thrifty, 
to take his part in the duties of citizenship, and 
to be a real sharer in the obligations and the 
privileges of the community in which he lives. 
Very few such separate houses are now being 
built in Cambridge. The apartment house, 
the "three-decker," the two-family house are 
taking the place of dwellings designed for the 
use of a single family. 

There can be no question about the fact that 




MASS.^CHUSETTS .AVENUE LOOKING NORTH FROM W.\TERHOUSE STREET 



thing must be satisfactory. This kind of ig- 
norance is played upon by the greed of those 
persons who for the sake of larger profits on 
their investments are willing to sacrifice the 
health and welfare of helpless people. 

The only really satisfactory way of living is 
in separate houses, each house occupied by a 
single family with a small bit of land attached, 
and always with a reasonable privacy and a 
sense of individuality and opportunity for real 



Cambridge is inevitably to become a city of 
growing density of population. The area is 
small, and the situation at the center of the 
metropolitan district has many and manifest 
advantages. There are already 105,000 people 
living on an area of only six and a half square 
miles. This means an average density of 25 . 1 
persons to an acre — a density greater than that 
of almost any city in the country and exceeding 
that of Boston. More and more people every- 



152 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



where live in cities because they prefer city life. 
They find there the social and industrial rela- 
tionships which they cannot find in the country 
districts. There are the opportunities for 
employment and for amusement. The shops, 
the theaters, the lighted streets, the saloons, 
the churches, the different lodges and societies 
all have their attractions. There is but little 
vacant land now left in Cambridge and in some 
parts of the city there is already dangerous 
congestion. As the population multiplies, the 



serious housing evils are likely to develop and 
none need be tolerated. Where they exist 
today they are a reflection upon the intelligence 
and right-mindedness of the community. The 
city needs to profit by the mistakes of others, 
to study perilous tendencies, to be vigilant in 
forestalling evils, to act in time to keep the 
city a city of homes and not permit it to become 
merely a city of tenements. 

It should go without saying that urban beauty 
requires the burying of wires, the suppression 




LONGFELLOW P.VRK 



city must see to it that the buildings which 
are erected for dwelling purposes are suitable 
for people to live in. Cambridge must prevent 
the growth of slums and forbid the creation 
of types of buildings which will later become 
a menace to the community. It must see to 
it that the dwellings of the poor are maintained 
in a sanitary condition, are kept in repair, and 
are provided with the necessities of decent 
living. If there has been neglect and careless- 
ness in the past, the older buildings must be 
renovated and made fit for human habitation. 
If Cambridge is alive to a growing danger, no 



of smoke, and the control of outdoor advertising. 
The time has gone by when the industrial pre- 
eminence of a city was crudely judged by the 
volumes of smoke pouring from the factory 
chimneys, the glaring prominence of the bill- 
boards and signs, and the network of overhead 
wires that shaded the streets. These are now 
recognized as nuisances that no progressive 
city will tolerate. It is more difficult, but 
equally necessary, to control building opera- 
tions, to limit the height of buildings, to require 
that the designs of all public buildings receive 
the approval of artists, and to secure in the 



THE OUTLOOK 



15.3 



appearance of the structures on any given block 
or street a reasonable degree of harmony. Most 
of the chief European cities have adopted ex- 
plicit regulations in regard to these matters, 
and their example deserves to be more generally 
followed in America. 

The civic spirit of Cambridge has always 
been reliable. There is a keen and general 
interest in public affairs. The activities of 
the government are closely followed, and good 
citizenship is highly prized. If the public 
spirit of the community will provide the im- 
provements which the new times demand and 



All times were modem in the time of them. 

And this no more than others. Do thy part 

Here in the living day, as did the great 

Who made old days immortal! So shall men, 

Gazing back to this far-looming hour, 

Say : ' Then the time when men were truly men : 

Though wars grew less, their spirits met the 

test 
Of new conditions; conquering civic wrong: 
Saving the state anew by virtuous lives ; 
Guarding their country's honor as their own. 
And their own as their country's and their 

sons' ; 



it 




COOPER-AUSTIX H(.)U; 



BUILT IS 1657 



guard against the perils which new conditions 
have evolved, the future of the city will be 
worthy of its honorable past. It will justify 
the prophecy of Richard Watson Gilder's 
verses : 

■" He speaks not well who doth his time deplore, 
Naming it new and little and obscure, 
Ignoble and unfit for lofty deeds. 



Defying leagued fraud with single truth ; 
Not fearing loss and daring to be pure. 
When error through the land raged like a pest 
They calmed the madness caught from mind to 

mind 
By wisdom drawn from eld, and counsel sane; 
And as the mart\TS of the ancient world 
Gave death for man, so nobly gave they life; 
Those the great days, and that the heroic age." 



154 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 




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The Anderson Bridge 



The Anderson Bridge extends across the 
Charles Ri\er and connects Bo>lston Streel 
in Cambridge with North Harvard Street in 
Boston, gi\ing adequate accommodation for 
the traffic between Harvard Square and tlie 
Stadium. It is the gift of Larz Anderson, 
a graduate of Harvard in the Class of 1888, 
as a memorial of his father, Nicholas Long- 
worth Anderson. One of the conditions of 
the gift is that the inscription which is re- 
produced under the illustration of the Bridge 
shall be maintained in [jerjietuity by the city 
within whose boundary it occurs. 

The Bridge, built of brick and concrete, 
corresponds in construction with the fence 
around Soldiers Field and also with the Weld 
Boat House, the latter a gift of the late George 
W. Weld (Harvard '60), the uncle of Mrs. 
Larz Anderson. The use of brick in the 
Bridge likewise carries out the Georgian 
spirit of the LTniversity buildings. The 
foundation is for the most part of concrete; 
but granite has been used for the base course 
where the structure comes in contact witli 
the water and the ground. The concrete 
construction above the foundation is rein- 
forced with steel. 

The Bridge itself consists of three arches. 
The one in the middle is 76 feet wide, and 
measures 16 feet at its highest point. Each 
of the two flanking arches has a span of 65 
feet, with a maximum height of 14 feet. The 
arches, piers, abutments and balustrades 
ha\e carefully designed embellishments of 
brick-work. The side-walks are built of 
granolithic separated by strips of granite; 
the road-bed is made of wooden-block pa\'ing. 
The side-walks are raised very little above 
the le\'el of the road-bed, so that the whole 
width of the Bridge may be used by foot 
passengers whenever occasion requires. In- 
cluding the approaches, the Bridge is 440 feet 
long; and at the extreme end, with the ten- 
foot side-walk, 60 feet wide. A monumental 
staircase on the Cambridge side gi\es access 
to the parkway. 

Nicholas Longworth Anderson was born 
in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 22, 1838, the son 
of Larz Anderson, and a nephew of General 
Robert Anderson, He was graduated at 
Harvard College in 1858, after which he spent 




NICHOLAS LONGWORTH ANDERSON 



about two years in study at the German 
universities. Returning to America in 1860, 
he began the study of law; but on the break- 
ing out of the Civil War he enlisted as a 
private. On April 19, 1861, he was com- 
missioned lieutenant and adjutant of the 
6th Ohio Volunteers; on June 12, following 
he was made lieutenant-colonel, and in August 
of the succeeding year, colonel. He was 
with the Regiment in the West Virginia 
campaign, and shared in all the marches and 
long battles of General Buell, Rosecrans, 
and Thomas, being wounded at Shiloh, and 
again at Stone River and Chickamauga. On 
March 13, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier- 
general for gallant conduct at Stone River, 
and major-general for distinguished gallantry 
at Chickamauga. The war over, he completed 
his preparation for the bar, to which he was 
duly admitted at Cincinnati. Subsequently 
he removed to Washington. His death oc- 
curred at Lucerne, Switzerland, Sept. 18, 1892. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



Rev. EDWARD ABBOTT, D.D. 

Abbott, Edward, Rev. D.D., for nearly 
thirty years associated with St. James Episcopal 
Church, as rector and rector emeritus, was bom 
in Farmington, Me., July 15, 1841. He was 
the youngest son of Jacob and Harriet Vaughan 




Rev. EDWARD ABBOTT, D.D. 

Abbott. He was prepared for college at the 
Farmington Academy and was graduated from 
New York University in 1860; this institution, 
moreover, bestowed upon him his doctor's 
degree in 1890. He was educated in theology 
at the Andover Theological Seminary and was 
ordained as Congregational minister in 1863. 
Prior to this, however, he spent some months 
with the Anny of the Potomac, during the Civil 
War, in the ser\-ice of the United States Sani- 
tary Commission. Dr. Abbott was twice mar- 
ried. His first wife was Clara Davis, by whom 
he had one son and two daughters. Of these 



children, Mrs. Eleanor Hallowell (Abbott) 
Cobum of Lowell alone survives. Mrs. Cobum 
is a writer of short stories under her maiden 
name. In 1883 he married Katherine Kelley 
Dunning. Dr. Abbott organized the Steams 
Chapel Society, as a Congregationalist, which 
has since become the Pilgrim Church in Cam- 
bridgeport. He retired from his duties there 
in 1869 to become associate editor of the Con- 
gregationalist; from 1877 to 1888, he was editor 
of the Literary World, serving in the same 
capacity again from 1895 to 1903. During his 
early Cambridge experience, he was a member 
of the School Board, and was chaplain of the 
State Senate. In the seventies, through a 
gradual change in his religious views. Dr. Abbott 
was confirmed in the Protestant faith and was 
ordained deacon by Bishop Paddock, January, 
1879. In the following year, on the twentieth 
of January, he was made priest, and became 
rector of St. James Parish. Here was Dr. 
Abbott's life work. 

W^hen he began his rectorship, there was only 
the Greenleaf Chapel in Beech Street. In 1884 
a commodious parish house was erected. It 
is believed to be one of the first, if not the first, 
ever built for an Episcopal Church. In 1885, 
under Dr. Abbott's supervision, the parish 
purchased the comer lot, and in 1889, the new 
church was built. Devoted as he was to his 
parish duties. Dr. Abbott nevertheless was the 
author of a number of books and stories among 
which are the following: "A Paragraph History 
of the American Revolution"; "Revolutionary 
Times"; " History of Cambridge " ; "Memoir of 
Jacob Abbott"; "Phillips Brooks Memorial," 
1900; "The Bells Own Story," 1901; "Mrs. 
James Greenleaf," 1902; "John Summerfield 
Lindsay, D.D."; "Memorial Semion," 1904. 
His more important magazine articles were: 
"Lighthouses"; "The Galaxy," 1869; "The 
Parkman Murder," 1875; "Wellesley College," 
Harper's Magazine, 1876; "The Androscoggin 
Lakes," Harper's Magazine, 1877; and "Grand 



156 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Manan and Quoddy Bay," Harper's Magazine, 
1878. 

In public life. Dr. Abbott filled numerous 
posts, such as "Visitor" to Wellesley College, 
Trustee of the Society for the Relief of Widows 
and Orphans of Clergymen; President of Asso- 
ciated Charities of Cambridge; President of 
Cambridge Branch of the Indian Rights Asso- 
ciation; Member of the Missionary Council 
of the General Chiu-ch; Member of Provisional 
Committee on Church Work in Mexico; Presi- 
dent of the Indian Industrial League; President 
of the Cambridge City Mission. 

Dr. Abbott spent a part of his early life in 
Cambridge in a house since burned, which he 
built in Channing Street. It was the first 
dwelling in that now well occupied thorough- 
fare; and because from its windows he could 
see across the meadows to the Charles River, 
he gave it the name "Long Look House." In 
later life he lived at 11 Dana Street, the home 
still occupied by his widow. The services of 
Dr. Abbott as pastor were sought from time to 
time by a number of parishes away from Cam- 
bridge. Among such calls may be mentioned 
that to be rector of Christ Church, Detroit, 
Mich., in 1885 ; the rectorship of Trinity Church, 
Columbus, O., in 1888; and the superintendency 
of the Boston City Mission, in the same year; 
in 1889, Dr. Abbott was elected by the General 
Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
to be missionary bishop of Japan. All these 
calls were notable, and suggested the type of 
man to whom they were extended ; in particular, 
the election to Japan opened a field of activity 
much to Dr. Abbott's liking; but he felt that 
his place was with his parish in Cambridge, and 
after careful consideration he declined the honor. 
Dr. Abbott resigned as rector of St. James 
Parish in June, 1905, but his resignation did 
not take eftect until July 1, 1906, and even then 
was accepted with great reluctance by the 
Vestry. 

His death occurred on April 5, 1908, but his 
memory is still green. Following a largely 
attended funeral in St. James Church on April 7, 
the burial service was held in Brunswick, Me., 
on April 8. His resting-place is within sight 
of the campus of Bowdoin College and of the 
Library building which contains his Memorial, 
the Abbott Room. In Brunswick, members 



of his family had resided, and from Bowdoin, 
many of his ancestors had been graduated. In 
1905, Dr. Abbott began the preparation of a 
history of St. James's from careful records which 
he had kept through many years. The manu- 
script was completed some time before his death 
and was published by the Vestry in 1909, under 
the title, "St. James Parish, Cambridge; Forty 
Years of Parish History." The picture of 
Cambridge as Dr. Abbott knew it — now nearly 
fifty years ago — is given briefly, but interest- 
ingly; and in all her growth and useful activities, 
Cambridge had no warmer friend than Dr. 
Edward Abbott. 



WILLIAM ROBERT ADAMS 

Adams, William Robert, dry-goods 
merchant of East Cambridge for forty years, 
was bom at Derry, N.H., in 1839, and at the 
age of fifteen years he came to Cambridge, 
where he resided up to the time of his death, 
which occurred February 6, 1910. 

He was a veteran of the Civil War, having 
entered the army at the age of twenty-three 
years. He served in Company E of the 44th 
Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers for two 
years, being honorably discharged with the 
rank of corporal. In 1864 he re-enlisted for 
three months, at the end of which time he 
was honorably discharged and returned to 
his home in East Cambridge. 

In 1870 he opened a dry goods store on 
Cambridge Street, East Cambridge. He 
changed his location after a few years, and 
located at 258 Cambridge Street, where he 
was located for thirty years. Altogether he 
was in business on that street for forty 3-ears, 
which was up to the time of his death. 

He was prominent in Post 57, G.A.R., and 
for several years, until his death, served as 
chaplain and patriotic instructor. He had 
several times refused to become its commander. 
At the dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors 
Monument on the Boston Common, he took a 
very prominent part in the exercises. He 
was a member of the Cambridge Veteran Fire- 
men's Association, of Lechmere Council, Royal 
Arcanum, and of the Knights of Honor, of 
which he was chaplain. He was also a director 
of the East Cambridge Savings Bank. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



157 



At the Trinity Methodist church, of which 
he was a member, he was one of the leaders. 
He had been treasurer of the church for over 
twenty years, and was also class leader and a 
teacher in the Sunday school. 

Mr. Adams was a very benevolent and genial 
man, and the residents of East Cambridge, 




WILLL\M ROBERT AD.\MS 



where he was identified with the people's 
interests, will miss him, particularly the poor 
people of old Ward Three whom he always 
befriended. 



ALEXANDER AGASSIZ 
Ag.\ssiz, Alexander, the son of Louis 
Agassiz, was born at Neuchatel, Switzerland, 
December 17, 1835, his mother being Cecile 
Braun, a sister of Alexander Braun, Louis 
Agassiz's college friend. She was distinguished 
in many ways, but especially by her skill in 
drawing. Her father had already become known 
in the scientific world by his cmbryological 
investigations, and Humboldt advised him to 
visit America, which he did in 1846 — alone, 
because his circumstances were limited and the 
venture doubtful. He was, however, at once 
invited to deliver a course of lectures on "Com- 
parative Embryology," at the Lowell Institute, 



and soon saw that the opportunities he sought 
were to be found here, and he remained. In 
1847 his wife died, and Alexander, a boy of 
eleven years, came to Cambridge to live with 
his father. Later his father married Miss 
Elizabeth Cary, and this riveted the bonds 
which bound the son to Cambridge, where he 
for nearly half a century resided. 

Alexander prepared for Harvard, and gradu- 
ated in the class of 1855. Even then it was not 
made clear that he had his father's vocation, 
though he entered the Lawrence Scientific 
School for a course of engineering and chemistry, 
and got his B.S. in 1857. Meanwhile he assisted 
his parents in the girl's school which Mrs. 
Agassiz opened at the corner of Quincy Street 
and Broadway, for the times were hard and 
Professor Agassiz's investigations were costly 
and his professional income limited. After 
an extra two years' course in chemistry, Alex- 
ander Agassiz joined the Coast Survey, the great 
chief of which. Professor Bache, was one of his 
father's warmest friends. He was assigned to 
duty on the California coast, and found time 
to collect specimens for the Cambridge Museum 
in mines on the shore. 

He spent the greater part of the winter of 
1859-1860 at Panama and Acapuleo, collecting 
specimens for the Museum of Comparative 
Zoology at Cambridge. The next spring he 
resumed his work at San Francisco. After 
examining the mines in the interior of Cali- 
fornia in July, 1860, he returned to Cambridge, 
where he was appointed agent of the museum. 
He then took the full coiu-se in the zoological 
and geological departments of the Lawrence 
Scientific School. Previous to the absence of 
his father in Brazil in 1865, he had been ap- 
pointed assistant in zoology at the museum, of 
which he was in full charge at that time. In 
1865, he also engaged in coal mining in Pennsyl- 
vania, additional to his work at home in Massa- 
chusetts. 

In 1866 he was in the Lake Superior region 
as a mining expert. He was made treasurer 
of the Calumet, and the next year general super- 
intendent of both the Calumet and Hecla mines. 
He put in an immense amount of work for their 
development. People are accustomed to think 
of mining successes as windfalls, and certainlj' 
those who had a cue to go into the stock of the 



158 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



discredited "coppers" and bought the shares for 
the price of waste paper had great luck, but it 
took Mr. Agassiz fifteen hours a day for months 
and months to make the properties what they 
are. Once, after a long and irrepressible fire 
in the mines had raged for months, he had the 
happy thought of extinguishing it by blowing 
in carbonic acid gas. He was fertile in his ex- 
pedients, scientific in planning, practical inexe- 
cution, and the millions that have enriched 
Boston, enlarged her charities and spread hap- 
piness all about the land were the direct gift 
of this man's wisdom and energy. 

He afterwards went abroad to examine the 
museums of the leading coimtries of Europe. 
When in 1870 he returned to Cambridge he was 
made assistant curator of the musevun. His 
father died in 1874, and Alexander succeeded 
him as curator. In that year he was also elected 
by the Alumni as one of the overseers of Har- 
vard. Four years subsequently he was chosen 
by the corporation one of its fellows. He re- 
signed the honor in 1885, on account of bad 
health. Mr. Agassiz retained his connection 
with the museum, which he enriched by liberal 
gifts, and was director of the University Museum 
at the time of his death. It is stated that in all 
he gave more than half a million dollars to 
Harvard University- 
Mr. Anderson, the tobacconist, gave Profes- 
sor Agassiz an island in the Elizabeth group — 
Penikese — for a summer school, and Alexander 
Agassiz had charge of it in 1873. Through lack 
of funds for its maintenance, the school was 
abandoned. 

Alexander Agassiz is next found exploring the 
west coast of South America — Peru, Chili and 
Lake Titicaca — sending home tons of specimens 
to the Peabody Museum; and in England assist- 
ing Sir Wjrville Thompson to arrange the treas- 
ures brought by the Challenger, and securing 
specimens for his own museum. Some results 
of his work in various parts of South America 
in 1875 are seen in the collection of Peruvian 
antiquities at the Peabody Museimi. 

Agassiz spent the winters from 1876 to 1881 
in deep-sea dredging, the steamer Blake being 
placed at his disposal by the Coast Siuvey. 

Alexander Agassiz was for many years presi- 
dent of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company. 
The Academic des Sciences, Paris, awarded 
him a prize, and Cambridge University the 



degree of LL.D. In 1910 he received the Vic- 
toria Research Medal. He was a member of 
many scientific organizations in America and 
abroad, and the author of numerous works on 
marine zoology. 

He was married in 1860 to Miss Anna Russell. 
His three sons are Maximilian, George R. and 
Rodolphe L. Agassiz. 

Alexander Agassiz died on March 27, 1910. 

LOUIS AGASSIZ 
Agassiz, Louis (1807-1873), a Swiss-Ameri- 
can natiu-alist, especially distinguished in ich- 




LOUIS AGASSIZ 

thyology and the study of glaciers, was bom at 
Motier in the canton of Fribourg. He became 
in 1832 a professor at Neuchatel. In 1839 he 
began his never-completed Historie N aturelle des 
Poissons d'Eau Douce de l' Europe Centrale, and 
published between 1833 and 1843 the five vol- 
umes of text (with five more of plates) of his 
Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles. Between 
1839 and 1845 he made (chiefly on the Unteraar 
Glacier in the Bernese Oberland) some of the 
earliest recorded observations on the motion 
of glaciers. Narrative accounts of their jour- 
neys were published by Desor in his two series 
of Excursions et Sejours sur les Glaciers (1844- 
1845); and Agassiz embodied his scientific 
observations in his Etudes sur les Glaciers (1840) 



BIOGRAPHIES 



159 



and his Nouvclle Etudes (1847). His theory 
of glacier motion (dilation of water frozen in 
the crevasses) soon gave way, however, to that 
formicated by Forbes (gravitation plus plas- 
ticity). In 1847 Agassiz accepted the newly- 
founded professorship of natural history in 
the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard 
University, a post which he held till his death, 
having in 1862 become a citizen of the United 
States. He made many scientific journeys in 
America (particularly one to Brazil in 1865), 
and in 1858 founded at Harvard the Museum 
of Comparative Zoology, which is especially 
rich in fishes. He assailed with great earnest- 
ness Darwin's evolutionary theory, which to 
the end he refused to accept. Agassiz's memory 
is preserved in the Alps by the Agassizhorn 
(12,980 feet), in the Bernese Oberland; in 
Arizona by a peak 10,000 feet, near the Grand 
Caflon of the Colorado; in Utah by a peak in 
the Uintah range; and in North Dakota, Min- 
nesota and Manitoba by the basin termed Lake 
Agassiz. 

Besides the works mentioned, his publications 
include Contributions to the Natural History of 
the United States (four volumes) ; The Structure 
of Animal Life (1874); A Journey to Brazil 
(1868) . See his wife's Life and Correspondence of 
Agassiz (1886) and Marcou's Life, Letters and 
Works of Agassiz (1896). 



FRANK AUGUSTUS ALLEN 
Allen, Frank Augustus, son of Horace 0. 
and Elizabeth (Derby) Allen, was bom in 
Sanford, York County, Me., January 29, 1835. 
He received his education in the village schools 
of his native town and in the Academy at Alfred, 
Me. His father died when he was two years 
old, and at the age of seventeen years he left 
home and worked as a bobbin-boy in the cotton 
mills in Biddeford. From the age of eighteen 
to twenty-one he was a clerk in a dry-goods 
store; and in the spring of 1856, when he was 
twenty-one years old, he began the dry-goods 
business on his own account, at Saccarappa, 
Me. A year later he removed to Portsmouth, 
N.H., continuing in the same business, and three 
years after he sold out his retail business in 
Portsmouth, and entered into the wholesale 
dry-goods business in Boston. In 1863 he 
removed his business to New York, at one time 



employing more than five hundred persons and 
one hundred sewing machines in the manu- 
facture of ladies' gannents. In Januarj', 1868, 
Mr. Allen, having relinquished the dry-goods 
trade, returned to Boston and established the 
Oriental Tea Company on Court St. In July, 
1910, after transferring his interest in this 
business to his son and other junior partners, Mr. 
Allen retired altogether from active business life. 
While in Portsmouth, Mr. Allen was married 
to Miss Annie G. Scribner. of Gorham, Me., 




FRANK AUGUSTUS ALLEN 

who died in 1865, leaving two children, Annie E. 
and Herbert M. In 1866 he married Elizabeth 
M. Scribner. Mr. Allen came to Cambridge 
in April, 1871. He served in the Common 
Council in 1876 and 1877, the latter year as 
president of that board. He was Mayor of 
the city in 1877, and a member of the Board of 
Sinking Fund Commissioners from January, 
1878, until January', 1912, and chairman of the 
Board during the last ten years of this period of 
thirty-four years' service. Also a member of the 
Water Board from July, 1894, until June, 1899. 
Mr. Allen is a member of the Prospect Street 
Congregational Church, and a No-license Re- 
publican in politics. He has always been promi- 
nent in all plans for the improvement and de- 
velopment of Cambridge. 



160 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



OSCAR FAYETTE ALLEN 
Allen, Oscar Fayette, son of Harry and 
Jane (Whitman) Allen, was bom at Pomfret, 
Vt., January 20, 1843. His father was a 



happy disposition, and never had an enemy. 
He was a Universalist; a Whig in politics, a 
Free Soiler, and later a Republican. He 
trained in the early militia. Jane (Whitman) 




OSCAR FAYETTE ALLEN 



farmer, a native of Pomfret, Vt., bom May 13, 
1814; died May 31, 1901, and was engaged in 
the farming business all of his life. He was 
a man of remarkable perseverance, had a very 



Allen, mother of Oscar Fayette Allen, was bom 
in Pomfret, Vt., April 23, 1919, and died June 6, 
1888. Her father, William, was a farmer and 
served in the Revolution. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



161 



Oscar Fayette Allen received his edvication 
in the common schools and in the Green 
Mountain Institute at Woodstock, Vt., now 
the Green Mountain Perkins Academy. When 
he was nineteen years old he began to teach 
in his own district school, the first term. The 
second term he taught in the (Chedel) district, 
near his home, and the third term at the Broad 
Brook district in Royalton. He then taught 
the No. 9 district at Sharon, and at East Bar- 
nard, Vt., and the fifth term again in his own 
district. In the fall of 1867 he removed to 
Wauconda, 111., where he taught a year in the 
primary and high schools. He then removed 
to Cameron, Mo., and taught in the public and 
private schools for eight years. Here he 
became identified with the Congregational 
church and sang in the choir, and was superin- 
tendent of the Sunday school. In 187G he 
came to Boston, and later accepted a position 
as salesman in Dodge's Ninety-Nine Cent Store 
on Hanover Street. After two years with that 
establishment he entered the Cambridge Sav- 
ings Bank, where for seven years he worked 
as clerk and bookkeeper, and also served as 
paying teller. In 1SS4 he was elected treasurer 
of the institution, which position he now holds. 
He is also trustee and clerk of the corporation. 

Mr. Allen resides at 39 Martin Street, 
in a beautiful home which he built in 1900. 
He attends the Unitarian church, which was 
the first church in Cambridge, being founded 
in 1633. He is a Republican in politics. He 
is a life member of Mizpah Lodge of Masons 
at Cambridge, joining May 13, 1SS9. He 
served as its Worshipful Master in 1900 and 
1901, and also as auditor of the Grand Lodge 
of Masons of Massachusetts since 1901. He is 
a member of Cambridge Royal Arch Chapter 
of Masons, since November 13, 1891, and is 
also a life member of this body. He received 
his degrees of knighthood in the Boston Com- 
mandery of Knights Templars in Boston, 
April 15, 1903, and served as its treasurer in 
1906 and 1907, although he has now resigned. 
He is a member of Signet Chapter, No. 22, of 
the order of the Eastern Star. 

Mr. Allen is a charter member of the Cam- 
bridge Historical Society, which was chartered 
in 1905, and was treasurer of this society in 
1905, 1906 and 1907; now resigned. He is a 



member of the Vermont Association of Boston, 
and of the Massachusetts Savings Bank Treas- 
urers' Club, of which he was secretary four 
years, and a member of the Citizens' First 
Volunteers Association of Cambridge, Mass. 
This association annually banquets the first 
company of vokmteers that enlisted in the 
Civil War, on April 17, 1861. He served in 
the Vermont state militia when a young man. 
He married October 20, 1865, Flora Viola 
Allen, bom April 2, 1844, daughter of Roswell 
Jr. and Mary (Snow) Allen of Pomfret, Vt. 
Her father was a farmer. They have no 
children. 

JAMES BARR AMES 

Ames, James Barr, was born in Boston. 
June 22, 1846; died January 8, 1910. He got 
his early education in the grammar schools of 
Medford and Boston and in the Boston Latin 
School. He received his degree of bachelor of 
arts at Harvard in the class of 1868, and entered 
the Harvard Law School, receiving the LL.D. 
degree in 1872. He won his A.M. degree in 
the same year. His honorary degrees were 
doctor of laws from New York University in 
1898, University of Wisconsin, 1898, University 
of Pennsylvania, 1900, Northwestern (111.), 
1903, and Williams, 1904. 

In 1868-1869, instead of going directly from 
college to the law school, he taught in the private 
school of Epes S. Dixwell, in Boston. And, as 
it turned out, teaching was to be his life work, 
and was to be so well done as to place Professor 
Ames among the very first of American educa- 
tors. He traveled in Europe for a year in 1869- 
1870. 

While in the law school he was first a tutor 
in French and Gennan in Harvard College, 
1871-1872, and the following year an instructor 
in history. He was admitted to the bar of 
Massachusetts in 1873. 

He never practised, for, in the fall of 1873, he 
became assistant professor of law at the Harvard 
Law School. He became professor of law in 
1877, and two years later was given the Bussey 
chair of law, April 9, 1879. He succeeded Pro- 
fessor Langdell as dean of the law school, June 
18, 1895, and on January 26, 1904, he was trans- 
ferred from the Bussey professorship to the 
Dane professorship. 



162 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Professor Ames developed the "Har\^ard" 
system, or "case" system, of teaching law, 
which is the best recognized modem method. 
A constant contributor to law reviews, he 
also wrote a number of case complications 
which rank high among law text books. His 
essays on the history of the common law, how- 
ever, probably gained for him the most popular 
fame. 

In 1880, he married Miss Sarah Russell, 
of Boston. They had two sons, Robert Russell 
Ames and Richard Ames. 



WALTER IRVING BADGER 

Badger, Walter Irving, corporation 
attorney and law\-er, was bom in Boston, 
Mass., January 15, 1859. His father, Erastus 




WALTER IRVING BADGER 

Beethoven Badger, was a son of Daniel B. and 
Anne (Clarke) Badger, and a descendant from 
Giles Badger, who came from England to 
Portsmouth, N.H., about 1750. Walter Irving 
Badger was a vigorous, athletic child and 
youth, brought up in both the city and country 
and fond of all kinds of sport. He played 
four years on the Yale University football 



team and three years on the Varsity nine, being 
captain of the latter. After passing through 
the Grammar and English High School in 
Boston, he was fitted for college at Adams 
Academy, and matriculated at Yale University 
in 1878, graduating A.B. with the class of 1882. 
He became a clerk in the law office of Solomon 
Lincoln in 1882, and, while serving as a law 
clerk he took the regular course in the law 
school of Boston University, graduating LL.B. 
Cum Laude, 1885. 

His practice has included such clients as 
the Boston & Maine Railroad: the Travelers' 
Insurance Company; Henry H. Rogers, of 
New York City; the Boston Ice Company; 
the Boston Gaslight Company; the Cudahy 
Packing Company; the United States Rubber 
Shoe Company; the Jones and Laughlin Steel 
Company, of Pittsburg, Pa; the United States 
Express Company, etc. He was attorney for 
the gas company in the celebrated trial of the 
cases growing out of the subway explosion of 
March 4, 1897, and also for Mr. H. H. Rogers, 
in the litigation growing out of the gas war in 
Boston. He was married October 6, 1887, 
to Elizabeth Hand, daughter of Daniel and 
Frances (Ansley) Wilcox, of New Haven, Conn., 
and the two children bom of this marriage are 
Walter Ir\dng Badger, Jr., and Grace Ansley 
Badger. Mr. Badger's political affiliation is 
with the Republican part)'; he has never 
changed his allegiance. He is a member of 
the Baptist denomination. His club member- 
ship includes the University of Boston, the 
Exchange, the New Algonquin, the Curtis, 
the Country Club of Brookline, the University 
of New York, the Yale of New York, the East- 
ern Yacht and the Boston Yacht. 



HOLLIS RUSSELL BAILEY 
Bailey, Hollis Russell, lawyer and 
chairman of the board of bar examiners of 
Massachusetts, was bom February 24, 1852, 
in that part of Andover which in 1855 became 
the town of North Andover. His ancestry 
from James Bailey, who was bom in England 
and settled in Rowley about 1640, is as follows 
James, bom (about) 1612, married Lydia 
John Bailey, bom 1642, married Mary Mighill 
James Bailey, bom 1680, married Hannah 



BIOGRAPHIES 



163 



Wood; Samuel Bailey, bom 1705, married 
Mary Rolf; Samuel Bailey, bom 1728, married 
Hannah Kittredge; James Bailey, born 1757, 
married Lucy Brown; Otis Bailey, born 1806, 
married Lucinda Alden. John Bailey of the 
second generation perished in 1690 in the 
expedition against Quebec under General 
Phipps, and Samuel Bailey, Jr., of the fifth 
generation fell at Bunker Hill. 

Holhs R. Bailey's father, Otis Bailey, lived 
in the old Governor Bradstreet house, once 




IIUl.LIi RUaaLLL BAILEY 

the home of Anne Bradstreet, the first female 
poet of America. He was a farmer and 
butcher, a deacon in the Unitarian church, 
held several town offices and was a man of 
integrity, frugality and public spirit. He 
married Lucinda Alden, daughter of Alden 
and Lucinda (Briggs) Loring, of Duxbury, 
Mass., and a descendant of Thomas Loring, 
of Axminster, England, who came to Hingham, 
about 1635, and of John Alden, who came over 
in the Mayflower in 1620. Thus Mr. Bailey 
on his mother's side inherits the toleration of 



the Pilgrim Fathers; on his father's side, the 
sternness of the Puritans of the Bay Colony. 

Hollis Russell Bailey was a strong and active 
child, fond of out-door life, including fishing 
and hunting, and from his earliest years was 
constantly engaged on the farm in strenuous 
manual labor when not in school. He claims 
that this mode of life had the effect to make 
him strong, self-reliant, industrious and per- 
sistent. His mother's influence in these early 
days also made for truth, sobriety and willing- 
ness to work. 

His father's death, in 1866, increased the 
dtities and responsibilities of the boy, and led 
him to form habits of self-reliance. His 
models and ideas of great men were derived 
from the reading of biographies and auto- 
biographies. He attended the Punchard Free 
School, Andover, and the Johnson High School, 
North Andover. Until 1870 the young man 
did not have a collegiate education in view, 
but at that date the advice of Dr. Samuel 
Taylor, the principal of Phillips Andover 
Academy, led him to that decision; and it was 
the Academy where he fitted for college, gradu- 
ating in 1873, fourth in his class. At the 
commencement he delivered a Latin oration. 
He received honors in Latin and Greek on his 
entrance examinations to Harvard. 

He graduated from Harvard in 1877, stand- 
ing eighth in his class. He was elected a 
member of the Phi Beta Kappa as one of the 
first eight, in his junior year at the Phi Beta 
Kappa exercises, and was second marshal 
in 1877. He did a good deal of tutoring 
throughout his college course and served as 
proctor. During his senior year, in addition 
to his regular work, he took two courses in 
the Law School and passed the examinations. 
He entered the Harvard Law School one year 
in advance, in October, 1877, and (the course 
then being two years) obtained his degree of 
LL.B.inJune, 1878. A further course of one 
year in the Law School gave him the degree 
of A.M. in 1879. He also studied law with 
Hyde, Dickinson and Howe. Speaking of his 
choice of a profession, he says : "I had no strong 
bent for the law. I could have pursued medi- 
cine or engineering with equal pleasure. The 
influence of my oldest sister, Miss Sarah Loring 
Bailey, largely determined my choice and 



164 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



first roused my ambition to seek success in 
the legal profession. Outside my own family, 
my college associates were probably the most 
helpful factors in stimulating and shaping 
my Hfe." 

He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar 
in 1880, and began a general practice through- 
out New England, with an office in Boston 
at No. 30 Court Street. He served for a short 
time as private secretary to Chief Justice 
Horace Gray of the Massachusetts Supreme 
Judicial Court. He was married February 12, 
1885, to Mary Persis, daughter of the Hon. 
Charles H. and Sarah A. (Oilman) Bell, of 
Exeter, N.H. Her father was at one time 
governor of New Hampshire and United States 
Senator. One child was born of this marriage, 
Gladys Loring Bailey. They lived in Boston 
up to 1890, when they removed to Cambridge. 
He served as chairman of the City Committee 
of the Non-Partisan Municipal Party of Cam- 
bridge for one year, 1902; is conveyancer for 
the Cambridge Savings Bank; clerk of the 
First Church in Cambridge (Unitarian) ; in 
1900, became a member of the board of bar 
examiners of Massachusetts, and in 1903, 
became chairman of the board. He was 
elected to membership in the Cambridge Club, 
and became its president. He is a member 
of the Colonial Club of Cambridge, where he 
served for a time as a member of the committee 
on admission; of the American Free Trade 
League; the Bailey-Bayley Family Associa- 
tion, of which he was president, and is now 
treasurer; the Bostonian Society, and the 
American Bar Association. He left the Repub- 
lican party when James G. Blaine was nomi- 
nated for president in 1882, and since that 
time has acted with the Democratic party. 

He has written articles for the Harvard Law 
Review, and is the author of "Attorneys and 
their Admission to the Bar of Massachusetts." 
He assisted in the compilation and publication 
of a volume of the Bailey genealogy. 



He received his early education at the primary 
and grammar schools of this city, and prepared 
for college at the Cambridge Latin School. He 
matriculated at Harvard with the class of 1898, 
but, completing the course in three years, grad- 
uated at the age of seventeen, with the class of 
1897. He next studied civil engineering at 
the Lawrence Scientific School, received his 
degree of A.M. in 1898, and entered Harvard 
Law School, whence he was graduated in 1901. 
Having been admitted to the Bar in January 




HUGH BANCROFT 

Bancroft, Hugh, lawyer and chairman of 

the Directors of Port of Boston, was bom at 

Cambridge, on September 13, 1879, being the son 

of William Amos and Mary (Shaw) Bancroft. 



HUGH BANXROFT 

of that year, he now became a member of the 
firm of Stone, Dallinger & Bancroft. His con- 
nection with it lasted till 1907. He had, in 
the meantime, been assistant district attorney 
of Middlesex County from 1902 to 1906. In 1907 
he was district attorney for the same County. 

At one time General Bancroft was among the 
most active trial lawyers in the state, but in 
1909 he gave up court practice to take the posi- 
tion of treasurer of the Boston News Bureau. 
He still maintains his office practice, however. 
He is a director of the News Bureau and the 
Massachusetts Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 
and also of the Central Trust Co. of this city. 

He served in the militia of Massachusetts 



BIOGRAPHIES 



165 



from 1894 to 1909, when he was retired with 
the rank of major-general. He has been judge 
advocate general of Massachusetts. During 
the Spanish war he held a commission in the 
United States serv-ice as adjutant of the 5th 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantrj-. 

He married Mary A. Cogan on June 25, 1902. 
Her death occurred on October 29, 1903. He 
married his second wife, Jane W. Waldron, on 
January 15, 1907. 

He is a Congregationalist. He is a member 
of the following organizations: the Chamber of 
Commerce, the Massachusetts Bar Association, 
the Union, the Union Boat, Colonial, Harvard 
(New York), and St. Botolph Clubs. 



WILLIAM AMOS BANCROFT 
Bancroft, William Amos, president of the 
Boston Elevated Railway Company, son of 
Charles B. Bancroft, was bom at Groton, Mass., 
on April 26, 1855. He received his school edu- 
cation partly (1867-1872) in the Lawrence 
Academy, Groton, partly (1873-1874) in Phil- 
lips Exeter Academy. He then entered Harvard 
University, from which he graduated in 1878. 
After studying at the Harvard Law School 
(1879-1881), he was admitted to the Suffolk 
Bar in 1881. In 1882 he was elected to the 
Cambridge Common Council. He sat in the 
Legislature from 1883 to 1885. He served the 
city as alderman in 1891 and 1892, and as mayor 
from 1893 to 1896. General Bancroft was 
elected overseer of Harvard in 1893, and at the 
expiration of his first term in 1899 was re-elected 
for six years more. Having enlisted in the 
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia in 1875, he 
reached the rank of major-general after serving 
in the various grades. At the time of the 
Spanish War he was appointed brigadier-general 
of LTnited States Volunteers. He was connected 
with the Boston Elevated Railway Company 
from 1885 to 1890. In March, 1896, he renewed 
his connection with this company, and has been 
president of it since October, 1899. General 
Bancroft is a director in the United States, 
Puritan and Chelsea Trust Companies; a 
trustee of the Norwich University, Vermont; 
Lawrence Academy, Groton, Mass.; and Phil- 
lips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire. He 
presided at the Massachusetts State Republican 



Convention in 1893, and at the 120th anniver- 
sary of Phillips Exeter Academy in 1903; he 
was chief marshal of the Harvard Alumni in 
1903, and grand marshal of the Veterans Column 
in the Hooker Monument Parade the same year. 
He is president of the Mayors' Club of Massa- 
chusetts, Cambridge Club and New England 




WIIJ,L\M A.MOS BANCROFT 

Alumni of Phillips Exeter Academy; a member 
of the Cincinnati Order of Foreign Wars ; Order 
of Spanish War, and the following clubs : Union, 
Commercial, Exchange, Art, Colonial (Cam- 
bridge) and Middlesex. His marriage to Miss 
Mary Shaw took place in Boston, 1878. 



JOHN EDWARD BARRY 

Barry, John Edward, mayor of Cambridge, 
was bom on September 18, 1874, his parents 
having long been residents of Cambridge. He 
was named for his two uncles, brothers of his 
mother, and as he was "Eddie," as a child, so 
he continued to be known by his middle name, 
until many of his friends did not know that it 
was not his only one. 

He went to St. Mary's parochial school in 
Cambridgeport, and having advanced through 



166 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



all the grades he finished in St. Thomas Aqmnas 
college. Incidentally, Mr. Barry is the first 
graduate of St. Mary's School to be elected 
mayor of Cambridge. 

A course at a Boston commercial college fitted 
the young man for entrance into business life. 
He lost no time selecting an occupation and 
decided in favor of the railroad business. As a 
boy he went into the passenger and freight 
agency of a large tnmk line and rose to the 
position of clerk. He moved about the railroad 




JOHN' ED\V.\RD BARRY 

offices of Washington Street, increasing his 
acquaintance and the number of his friends, and, 
accordingly, received successively better offers, 
until eleven years ago, he was placed in charge 
of the New England tourist department of the 
Wabash Railroad, with headquarters in Boston. 
As the agent for the Wabash, it is Mr. Barry's 
business to persuade and induce persons con- 
templating a trip to the west or southwest to 
take his lines. He has been singularly successful 
in securing patronage, and he arranged for the 
trip of the Massachusetts delegates to the Denver 
convention of the Democratic party in 1908. 

Some men are bom with a zest for politics, 
and Mayor Barrj' is one of that kind. He 



began to engage modestly in the game as soon 
as he had a vote. There was always some can- 
didate in whose success he was interested, and 
he worked heroically soliciting votes for many 
men who since have reciprocated. 

There came a time when he aspired to office, 
and it was with ease that he was elected to the 
Common Council from Old Ward 2 in the fall 
of 1900. Two years he serv'ed in the lower 
body of the City Council, and when he had com- 
pleted that term he was advanced to the Board 
of Aldermen. In 1903, 1904 and 1905 he sat 
in the Board of Aldermen, and during the latter 
year he was its president. 

During 1906 he was a member of the House of 
Representatives from old Ward 2, and he was 
courageous enough to try for a second term in a 
district which had then been made Republican 
by a normal majority of 1,200. No Democrat 
was assumed to have a chance in that district, 
but when the votes were counted Mr. Barry 
was defeated by only 83, which shows the hea\'y 
Republican following he had. 

As he did not propose to move out of his home 
ward in order to reach Beacon Hill again, Mr. 
Barry had about settled down to the life of an 
ex-office holder when he was importuned to be 
a candidate for alderman again. He was re- 
turned to the Board of 1908, ending his service 
in April, 1909. 

Two years ago Mr. Barry made his first try 
for the Democratic nomination for mayor, and 
when Mayor Brooks was selected he entered 
into the campaign a loyal supporter of the party 
candidate. He did not oppose the renomination 
of Mr. Brooks, but when the Mayor expressed 
an intention to retire, Mr. Barry entered the 
field and became the Democratic candidate. 

Probably no candidate for mayor ever had 
a more enthusiastic body of volunteer workers 
or a larger band than were enlisted in the cam- 
paign for mayor. Without request and with 
no instructions from the candidate, scores of 
young men canvassed the city, conducted a 
door-bell campaign, rounded up voters on the 
streets, in the stores and on the cars. Everj^one 
spent his own money in Mr. Barr>''s behalf, so 
strong was the admiration for him. 

Speaking of his poHcy as mayor Mr. Barry 
said: "Cambridge cannot be further developed 
as a residential city. We cannot hope to in- 



BIOGRAPHIES 



167 



crease the amount of taxable property as a 
city of homes merely. It is essential that if 
we are to add to our valuation the increase must 
come from industrial plants. 

"It is my hope as Mayor to encourage the 
location of manufacturing plants in Cambridge. 
We have large tracts in the northern and eastern 
sections of the city that offer very attractive 
industrial sites. 

"We hold out to manufacturers good railroad 
facilities, the privilege of water transportation 
and proximity to Boston. I believe that manu- 
facturers consider it an advantage to be located 
near Boston, and in that respect Cambridge is 
near enough to satisfy anybody. 

' ' I believe that much may be accomplished 
through the co-operation of the city adminis- 
tration and the Citizens' Trade Association. If 
we strive to secure more manufacturing and 
endeavor to induce the people who now work 
here to live in Cainbridge we shall be doing a 
work that means increased business for our 
merchants as well as an addition to our \'alua- 
tion." 

He is a bachelor, and lives with his two sisters, 
Misses Abbie C. and Kathryn C. Barry, at 347 
Broadway, the three constituting the family. 

He has little use for the street car lines which 
pass his door, for Mr. Barry's chief fonn of 
recreation and exercise is walking. Being an 
ardent fresh-air advocate, he usually walks to 
and from his office, and on the coldest and most 
blustering days he may be seen tramping across 
the West Boston Bridge. 

Mayor Barry did much to bring about the 
settlement of the Amherst Street controversy. 
The question of closing this street threatened 
at one time to deprive Cambridge of the Massa- 
chusetts Institute of Technology. 

Mr. Barry is a member of the Elks, ICnights 
of Columbus, Catholic Union and St. Mary's 
Catholic Association, and was elected president 
of the Association of Railroad and Steamship 
Agents, January 6, 1912. 



Beal. His father was bom August, 1845, and 
is engaged in the grocery business in Danvers. 
Henry W. Beal received his early education 
in the public schools of his native town and 
fitted for college at Phillips Academy. He 
entered Harvard College as a member of the 
class of 1S97, and, though working his way 
through, graduated with his class, receiving 
his degree, Summa Cum Laude, as well as 
highest honors in history and political economy. 
After leaving Harvard he took up the study of 
law at Boston University Law School, and 




HENRY WILLIAMSON BEAL 

Beal, Henry Williamson, lawyer, and 
progressive citizen of Cambridge, was bom 
in Danvers, Mass., February 25, 1875. He is 
the son of Abram S. and Margaret E. (Hay) 



HENRY WILLIAMSON BEAL 

graduated with the class of 1900. At the latter 
place he still continued to be dependent only 
on his own efforts. 

Admitted to the bar, he began to practice 
law with Col. J. H. Benton, at 102 Ames Build- 
ing, Boston. One of the noteworthy incidents 
of his career is that he secured the necessarj' 
authority of city, cotmty and state boards to 
permit the building of the Industrial Track at 
East Cambridge; this is the only track of its 
kind in the state of Massachusetts. Mr. Beal 
is a Republican in politics and was a member 
of the Cambridge Board of Aldermen in 1909 
and 1910. He was a candidate for another 
term in 1911, but the tidal wave that swept 



168 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



away all the Non-Partisans carried him with 
it, though he polled a very large vote. He 
married, Jtme 12, 1902, Miss Bessie Helen 
Roper, daughter of George H. and Maria L. 
Roper. They have one child, Bruce Hilton 
Beal, bom November 17, 1907. Mr. Beal 
attends the Congregational Church, and is a 
member of the following organizations: Colo- 
nial Club, Cambridge; Boston Real Estate 
Exchange; Alumni Associations of Harvard; 
and Phillips Academy Andover Alumni Asso- 
ciation. 



HENRY M. BIRD 
Bird, Henry M., who in his career showed 
what triumphs can be achieved in the btisiness 




HENRY M. BIRD 

world by industry and enterprise, was bom in 
Easton, Mass., October 24, 1824, and died in 
Cambridge, December 27, 1890. He was 
married to Sarah A. Clark, who was bom in 
Acworth, N.H., March 2, 1827, and died 
August 30, 1895, five years after his death. 
He was educated in the public schools, where 
he received a good training, and was fully 
equipped for starting out in the world to make 
a name in business for himself, which he did 



most successfully. He entered the employ 
of the Chelmsford Foundry Co., at North 
Chelmsford, Mass., in 1840; there he remained 
for some time, and then went to work in the 
Navy Yard at Charlestown, Mass., where he 
stayed for a number of years, during the last 
two of which he was foreman. In 1864 he 
established the Broadway Iron Foundry in 
Cambridge. He lived to see the plant grow 
to be one of the most prosperous concerns of 
Cambridge. His estate carried on the business 
until 1895, when it was incorporated under 
the Massachusetts laws. Mr. R. C. Bird was 
made president, and W. W. Bird, treasurer. 
The plant comprises a foundry one hundred 
by one hundred and fifty feet in area, with 
pattern and fitting shops, and gives steady 
employment to fifty men. The present Broad- 
way Foundry differs greatly from the foundry 
established in 1864 by H. M. Bird, yet does 
resemble it in one respect, for it is equipped 
with the most improved facilities of the day, 
just as the original foimdry was with the best 
facilities known nearly half a century ago. 
To do good work at short notice and for fair 
prices has always been the policy of the Broad- 
way Foundry. 

Mr. Bird was always very active in church 
affairs, and for a number of years was a deacon 
in the North Avenue Congregational church, 
and later filled the same position in the Prospect 
Street Congregational church. In the latter 
years of his life he was an ardent supporter 
of the Prohibition party. The children bom 
to Mr. and Mrs. Bird are as follows: Charles A. 
Bird, now with the Albany Sand Company, 
of New York; George H. Bird, Congregational 
minister in Chicago; William W. Bird, pro- 
fessor of mechanical engineering at the Wor- 
cester Polytechnic Institute; and Robert C. 
Bird, who is manager of the Broadway Iron 
Foundrv. 



MARSHALL FRANKLIN BLANCHARD 

Blanchard, Marshall Franklin, merchant 
in Boston, and resident of Cambridge, was bom 
at Wellfleet, Mass., being the son of Marshall 
L. Blanchard by his wife Phoebe H. Bunting. 
His father was bom at Charlestown, Mass., in 
1824, his mother at Wellfleet, and both died at 



BIOGRAPHIES 



169 



Newton, Mass. Marshall F. Blanchard was 
educated first at the public schools of Swamp- 
scott, Boston and Newton, and afterwards at 
Brj'ant and Stratton's Business College. When 
he had completed the course of studies at this 
place, he entered the employ of Bunting & 
Emer>% of which firm he is now a member. He 
has been president of the T Wharf Fish Market 
since 1902. In national poHtics he is a Repub- 
lican; and in municipal, a Non-Partisan. He 
served the city on the Board of Aldennen from 
January, 1902. to April, 1911. when he volun- 



Club (Cambridge), Cambridge Club, Middlesex 
Republican Club, and the Boston Chamber of 
Commerce. 




M.-\RSH.\LL FRAXKLIX BL.^XCHARD 

tarily retired, and thus terminated an honorable 
career of five years in that branch of the City 
Government. Mr. Blanchard married Emma, 
daughter of William D. A. Whitman by his 
wife Emma Paty. Mrs. Blanchard was bom 
in Boston and so was her mother; her father 
was a native of Waltham. The marriage took 
place at Newton. Two children were bom of 
this union, Arthur F. and Helen. The daughter 
is dead. Arthur, bom at Newton in 1881, at- 
tended the Dana, the Harvard, and the Latin 
Schools of Cambridge, entered Harvard, and 
graduated in 1904. 

Mr. Blanchard is a member of the Colonial 



WILLIAM F. BRADBURY 

Bradbury, William Frothixgham, Master 
Emeritus of the Cambridge Latin School, was 
bom in Westminster, Mass., May 17, 1829. 
He is descended on his father's side from 
Thomas Bradbury, of Essex County, England, 
who was bom in 1610, settled in Salisbury, 
Mass., in 1639, and died in 1695. The line of 
descent is as follows: (2) William, 1649-1678; 
(3) William, 1672-1756; (4) James, 1701-? ; 
(5) Sanders, 1737-1779, killed in the Revolu- 
tion; (6) James, 1767-1811; (7) William 
Sanders, 1800-1881. William Sanders Brad- 
bury, the father of the subject of this sketch 
and a merchant in Westminster, was bom in 
HoUis, N.H., and attended the common school 
there. He was a Congregationalist, serving as 
deacon for many years. In politics he was 
first a Whig and later a Republican. He served 
in the Legislature of Massachusetts, in 1844, 
and was a trial justice for his district. Eliza- 
beth Emerson, his wife, was bom in Hollis, 
N.H., July 29, 1800, being a descendant of the 
Rev. Daniel Emerson (1743-1801), the first 
minister of Hollis, N.H., through (2) Deacon 
Daniel Emerson, born December 15, 1746, and 
(3) the Rev. Daniel Emerson, 1771-1808. The 
matter's wife was Esther Frothingham (1770- 
1849), and her father. Major Frothingham, who 
was bom in 1734, served through the Revolu- 
tion, became a major, entered the honorable 
ranks of the Cincinnati, and died in 1809. 
General Washington visited him when on his 
last tour north, the only special call made by 
him when in Charlestown. Mr. Bradbury 
often heard his grandfather say that he remem- 
bered being carried out of Charlestown when 
the British were going to set it on fire. From 
1844 to 1848, Mr. Bradbury was employed as 
clerk in the country store and post-office of 
Hollis, N.H.; in 1848, was land surveyor for 
that place and its vicinity,. and taught in the 
district school during the winters of 1848 to 
1854. He had never thought of going to 
college until May, 1852; so, when he entered 



170 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Amherst College in August of that year it was 
without any special preparation. He worked 
his way through college by teaching during 
the winters, and graduated as valedictorian 
of the class of 1856, his brother being the 
salutatorian of the same class. The Cambridge 
school committee had not seen him, yet before 
his graduation he was elected teacher of mathe- 
matics and physics in the Cambridge High 
School at a salary of nine hundred dollars, and 
entered upon the work of the position on 
Monday, September 1, IS.^d. There were 




WILLIAM F. BRADBURY 

five teachers, two men and three women, and 
two hundred pupils at that time. Early in 
April, 1857, the master having died, Mr. Brad- 
bury was appointed acting-master for the 
remainder of the year. On November 10, 
1865, he was elected Hopkins Classical Teacher, 
which position he continued to hold nearly 
forty-five years. In April, 1881, Mr. Bradbury 
was elected head master of the Latin School, 
but at the same time held the mastership of 
the English High School until the following 
September. He resigned December, 1908, 
from the Latin School. Thus, for more than 
fifty-three years he served the city as a teacher, 
and for thirtv-three years as the head of one 



of its most important schools. On his retire- 
ment from the head of the Latin School, Mr. 
Bradbury was made Master Emeritus of the 
Latin School. 

Mr. Bradbury has been active in professional 
and many other organizations, serving most 
acceptably in various positions of honor and 
trust. He is an ex-president of the Middlesex 
County Teachers' Association, of the Massa- 
chusetts Teachers' Association (1879-1880), 
of the Cambridge Choral Society (1874), 
of the High School Masters' Club (1885-1886), 
of the School Masters' Club (1898-1899), and 
of the American Institute of Instruction 
(1901-1902). 

He has been secretary and treasurer of the 
Classical and High School Teachers' Associa- 
tion since its organization in 1868, of the 
Teachers' Association since October, 1867, 
treasurer of the Teachers' Annuity Guild since 
April, 1893, of the Friday Evening Club since 
ISSO, and of the Cambridge Club since 1882. 
He has been a member of the Handel and 
Haydn Society since 1864, and its president 
since May, 1909, having been on the board 
of directors twenty-five years, and secretary 
from 1899 to 1909. He served in the common 
council of this city for the years 1883 and 1884, 
and is an Independent Republican in politics. 

During the fifty-three years and five months 
of Mr. Bradbury's career as teacher in Cam- 
bridge, he was absent on account of illness but 
two days; he has not had a doctor since 1849. 

Mr. Bradbury, on August 27, 1857, married, 
in Templeton, Mass., Margaret Jones, a 
daughter of Abijah and Phoebe Jones. Abijah 
Jones was a carriage maker and served as 
captain in the militia. Mrs. Bradbury is a 
graduate of Mt. Holyoke College. Three 
children were bom of this marriage; William 
Harvard Templeton, bom July 28, 1858, gradu- 
ate of Harvard College, wool broker; Marion, 
bom December 1, 1863; Margaret Seymour, 
bom September 8, 1877, graduate of Rad- 
cliffe College, teacher in the Cambridge Latin 
School. Mr. Bradbury, in addition to being the 
author of many text-books on mathematics, is 
the inventor of several school appliances, in- 
cluding a device for illustrating the metric 
system. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



171 



EDWARD J. BRANDON 

Brandon, Edward J., City Clerk of Cam- 
bridge, was bom in a small country town of 
Ireland, July 15, 1863, and came to this country 
with his parents, John and Margaret Brandon 
when he was but two years old. After living 
in Boston a few months the family removed to 
Cambridge. Edward attended the Cambridge 
public schools until he was graduated from the 
grammar school, and then entered the Boston 
College preparatory school. After graduating 
from the latter school he entered Boston College, 
but in his junior year left college to take a posi- 
tion in the counting-room of the New England 
News Company. He was rapidly promoted 
in this office, and in 1882 was made assistant 
cashier. 

He resigned this position with the News com- 
pany when he was elected assistant City Clerk 
of Cambridge, January 12, 1887. The election 
was by the City Council in joint convention 
to fill an unexpired term, and was not made until 
the tenth ballot. The following March, how- 
ever, he received the unanimous vote of the 
Council for the ensuing year, and since that 
date was always unanimously elected. 

Mr. Brandon was elected City Clerk in Octo- 
ber, 1895, upon the death of City Clerk Walter 
W. Pike, and has been re-elected year after 
year up to the present. 

From the \'ery first of his work as a city 
official, Mr. Brandon became interested in his- 
torical Cambridge and the preser\'ation of public 
records. He was one of the founders and mem- 
bers of the first council of the Cambridge His- 
torical Society, and at the request of that society 
has compiled a volume of the "proprietors'" 
records of Cambridge, covering a period from 
1635 to 1829, and a volume of the selectmen's 
records of the town of Camliridge, covering a 
period from 1630 to 1703. Both of these vol- 
umes have been highly commended by historical 
and genealogical societies. 

Mr. Brandon has always been an ardent 
worker in the Father Mathew Total Abstinence 
societies. He was first grand knight of the 
Cambridge council Knights of Columbus. 

He is a member of St. ]Mary's Catholic As.so- 
ciation, the Riverside Boat Club, Division 5 
A.O.H., the Cambridge Club, the Cambridge 



Board of Trade, the Catholic Union of Cam- 
bridge and the Holy Name Society of Cambridge. 
He was the first president of the latter society. 

Mr. Brandon was married to Miss Mary A. 
Corcoran of Cambridge, September 18, 1890, 
and has three children: Margaret J. Brandon, 
the elder daughter, who is a graduate of the 
Notre Dame Academy of Boston; Edmund J. 
Brandon, the only son; and Mary A. Brandon. 

Although unable to continue his course at 
Boston College, which he always regretted, Mr. 
Brandon did not stop studying, and in 1901 




EDWARD J. BR^XDOX 

he began the study of law, taking a few lessons 
in an evening school. He completed the course 
by studying at home and in a law office, and was 
admitted to the bar of the Massachusetts 
Supreme Court in special sitting in August, 1905. 



SILAS EDWARD BUCK 

Buck, Silas Edward, one of the public- 
spirited citizens of Cambridge, son of Silas 
Beaman and Mary Elizabeth (Smallidge) 
Biick, was born in Cambridge, Mass., May 20, 
1847. He was a jmpil in the public school of 
Cambridge, and his first business position was 
with Parker, Wilder & Company, the well- 
known commission dry goods merchants of 
Boston. He remained with this firm for nine 



172 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



years, and at the end of that time opened a 
store in East Cambridge for the sale of gentle- 
men's furnishing goods at retail. He con- 
ducted this business for three years, and then 
engaged in the coal business in connection with 
the firm of Joseph A. Wellington & Company, 
and he was with this firm for nine years, when 
he was offered a partnership, and on May 1, 
1SS7, the firm of Wellington & Buck succeeded 



daughter of Nehemiah Wellington, of Middle- 
sex Cotmty, and cousin of Austin C. Wellington 
(q.v.), of Cambridge, and Frederick W. Welling- 
ton, of Worcester, Mass. Silas Edward and 
Ellen Antoinette (Wellington) Buck had no 
children. They resided in Cambridge, and 
have a summer home at Jaffrey, N.H. Mr. 
Buck was a member of the New England Lodge, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Putnam 




SILAS EDWARD BUCK 



that of .Joseph A. .Wellington & Co., and the 
business was continued at 211 Bridge Street, 
East Cambridge. On the death of his partner, 
Joseph A. Wellington, August 1, 1888, he con- 
tinued the business alone, but retained the 
firm name under which he was carrying it on 
in 1907. Mr. Buck was married November, 
1874, to Ellen Antoinette, daughter of Joseph 
Abbott and Ellen (Smith) Wellington, grand- 



Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; 
and of the Cambridge Chapter Commandery 
Knights Templar. He became a trustee of 
the East Cambridge Savings Bank, and a 
member of the common council of the city of 
Cambridge in 1889, and a member of the board 
of aldermen of the city in 1890. Mr. Buck 
died at his summer home, Jaffrey, N.H., August 
28, 1908, survived by his wife. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



173 



WILLARD AUSTIN BULLARD 

BULLARD, WiLLARD AuSTIN, SOn of JoSeph 

and Harriet (Loker) Bollard, was born in Way- 
land, December 14, 1837. He was educated 
in the public schools of his native town, and at 
the age of eighteen began his business career 
as a clerk in the Faneuil Hall Bank, of Boston. 
In 1861, when the Harvard Bank of Cambridge, 



He was elected president of the First National 
Bank in 1896, succeeding Daniel U. Chamberlin 
after his death. He had been cashier for many 
years, and had had much of the responsibility 
of its management for thirty years or more. 
Mr. Bullard was called upon to act as 
trustee and executor of many important estates. 
He stood high among the financial men of 




WILLARD AUSTIN" BULLARD 



then a state bank, began business, he connected 
himself with it and was identified with it until 
his death. It was reorganized a few years 
later as the First National Bank of Cambridge, 
under the National Banl-: Act, finally resuming 
a State charter under the name of the Harvard 
Trust Company. Mr. Bullard rose through 
the various positions in the bank to the head. 



New England, and was interested in many of the 
important industries of Cambridge. He was 
president of the Cambridge Gaslight Company; 
treasurer and director of the Allen and Endicott 
Building Company of Cambridge; a director 
of the Boston Woven Hose Company; was 
fonnerly a trustee of the Cambridge Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company ; was a trustee of the 



174 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Cambridgeport Sa\'ings Bank; a director of 
the Home for Aged People of Cambridge; 
trustee and treasurer of the Cambridge Hospital, 
from its organization; trustee of the Dowse 
Institute; trustee of Daniel White Charity, 
which distributes coal to the poor of the City; 
a director of the West Point (Georgia) Manu- 
facturing Company ; a director of the Rivcrdale 
Cotton Mills; and a director of the Chatta- 
choochee Valley (Georgia) Railroad Comjiany. 

Hewasamcmberof the Cambridge Club, and 
attended the Unitarian Church. He had a sum- 
mer home in his native town, Wajdand. He 
married Siisan Matilda Bennett, daughter of 
Jonas Bennett. His children are: (1) Amy 
Celinea, bom March 10, 1862, who married 
Herbert C. Wells; (2) Henry Willard, bom 
December 2, 1863; (3) Gardner Cutting, bom 
January 17, 1866, graduate of Harvard, 1889; 
(4) Arthur Bennett, bom July 20, 1872; (5) 
Channing Sears, bom December 20, 1879, died 
January 8, 1907. 

Mr. Bullard died November 12. 1912. 



ARTHUR A. CAREY 
C.\REv, Arthur A., was bom in Italy, Feb- 
ruary 23, 1857. He is the son of John Carey, 
Jr., and AHda Astor. His early life was spent 
in New York, where his parents made their 
home. He matriculated at Harvard, and in 
1879 was graduated. He then spent several 
years in Europe. In 1889, his marriage to 
Miss Agnes Whiteside took place, and they 
chose Boston as their place of residence. Mr. 
Carey became interested in the Museum of 
Fine Arts and the Massachusetts General Hos- 
pital. Later, in 1898, he came to Cambridge, 
and is a resident of this city at the present time. 
Social betterment work absorbs a large part of 
Mr. Carey's attention now: he has founded a 
settlement house in Waltham for the employees 
of the Waltham Watch Company, and serves 
as a trustee. His children are Henry Reginald, 
Arthur Graham, Alida and Frances. 



HANS L. CARSTEIN 
Carstein, Hans L., coal merchant for a 
number of years at North Cambridge, was born 
in Schleswig, Germany, March 17, 1841; died 



at his home, January, 1911; son of Claus P. 
and Margareta (Detlefsen) Carstein. Claus 
P. Carstein was a farmer and land owner, and 
during the war between Prussia and Denmark, 
in 1848, he was in command of a military com- 
pany, and it was through political differences, 
that he was obliged to leave Germany, in 1850, 
and seek refuge in the United States. On his 
way from New York to California by way of 
Panama, he was a victim of yellow fever 
dying at Panama, in 1851. His property 
was confiscated and his family lost its usual 
income. His son, Hans L., under the custom 
of Germany, received a commercial education, 
and he then went to sea before the mast, and 
after fifteen years' sea service came back to 
Germany, master of the ship. The Franco- 
Prussian War having closed, he brought his 
mother and sister to the United States to join 
a brother who had preceded them. They 
arrived in Boston, Mass., 1871, at the time of 
the great Chicago fire, and his first work was 
one of philanthropy, to collect clothing for 
the relief of the sufferers in that city, making 
appeals for help on Boston Common, and 
receiving not only clothing, but provisions 
and money. He joined his brother Theodore 
in the paint and oil business on Hanover Street, 
Boston, and, meeting with business reverses 
in 1873, during the financial panic of that year, 
they gave up the business two years later. 
Meantime, his sister Theresa had married 
Frank Canter, who was in the provision busi- 
ness in Jamaica Plain, and in closing out the 
paint and oil business he joined him as a partner 
in 1874. He bought out the coal business of 
Benjamin F. Rogers at North Cambridge, and 
from an output of two thousand tons annually 
he btiilt up the business so that in 1910, the 
output was over forty thousand tons annually. 
He married (first), in 1876, Ida Peterson, a 
daughter of a German Lutheran clergyman, 
and they had one son, Gustave E. Carstein, 
bom July 24, 1881, in Jamaica Plain, Mass., 
and he was prepared for college, going through 
Harvard, class of 1905, and on leaving college 
engaged in Wsiness with his father, as manager 
of the yards. Mrs. Carstein died in 1881. He 
married (second) June 17, 1S8.3, Magdalene, 
daughter of the Rev. C. F. Boring, a German 
Lutheran clergyman. By this marriage his 



BIOGRAPHIES 



175 



children were: Lorenz F., born May 1-t, 1884, 
graduated at the United States Naval Academy, 
Annapolis, Md. In 1906, he was assigned to 
the Asiatic Squadron at the Philippines. Hans 
L., Jr., bom in Cambridge, Mass., October 13, 
1885, who after leaving school took a three 
years' course at Culver Military Academy in 
Indiana, graduating as a commissioned officer, 
first lieutenant-quartermaster, preparatory to 
engaging in business with his father and elder 



a congregation of between sixty and seventy 
German families, residents of the neighborhood 
of the mission house. With his family he 
was connected with St. James church, North 
Cambridge, from 18S8, and he was made treas- 
urer of the church corporation. He was a 
member of the Pilgrim Fathers, Young Men's 
Christian Association of Cambridge, and held 
the offices as director, trustee and treasurer 
of the organizations. He was also trustee of 




H.\XS L. C.\RSTEIX 



brother. Gretchen, bom in Cambridge, Mass., 
October 22, 1888, was prepared for entrance 
to Smith College, Northampton, Mass., at the 
Oilman school, Cambridge, and at Burnham 
school, Northampton, Mass. Mr. Carstein 
became a layman and lay reader in the Episco- 
pal Protestant cliurch, of which his family 
were also members, and he conducted mission 
work in East Cambridge from 1891, in connec- 
tion with the church of the Ascension, where 
he conducted service everv other Stmdav, and 



the Pitchman Estates in Cambridge. He 
was a member of the Cambridge and Colonial 
clubs, and in the Middlesex Republican club. 
He was a member of the common council of 
Cambridge, 1899, and alderman for six con- 
secutive years, 1890-9(3, and in 1896 he refused 
further nomination on account of ill health. 
As a member of the board of aldermen he was 
a member of the finance committee, and the 
highway committee, all special committees 
and chairman of the investigating committee. 



176 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



In the board he advocated the extension of 
the Boston Subway to Cambridge, being the 
first member to open the subject on committees, 
and for three years he was chairman of the 
committee appointed to act on behalf of the 
city government, and before he left the board 
the matter was practically settled and the 
subway assured. In this connection he in- 
vited fifty of the most prominent citizens of 
Cambridge to meet at the City Hall and confer 
with him and Mayor Augustine Daly, and 
after several meetings it was unanimously 
voted that the subway system was far superior 
to the elevated system for securing effective 
and reasonable rapid transit from Boston to 
Harvard Square. Mr. Carstein was made a 
delegate from the eighth Massachusetts district 
to the Republican National Convention at 
Chicago, in 1904, as an acknowledgment of 
his work in the interest of the party in Cam- 
bridge. He composed a campaign song which 
was received with rousing cheers when sung 
to the air of "Die Wacht am Rhein," by the 
delegates, when Theodore Roosevelt was 
nominated, the chairman of the Massachusetts 
delegation having provided five thousand 
copies with both words and music printed for 
distribution in the Convention Hall. Few 
men, indeed, pass on whose death is so gen- 
erally and so sincerely mourned as that of 
Hans L. Carstein. "While he had been in 
failing health for some time and the end was 
not unexpected, the realization at the present 
moment that he is gone is none the less an 
occasion for sadness and regret. His honesty 
and kindliness, whether in business or social 
matters, surrounded him with friends and 
associates whose respect for him only increased 
as time went on. Mr. Carstein was most 
fortunate in his home surroundings. He made 
his home and his family circle the happiest 
place that he or any member of it could know. 
Even when an incurable malady fastened 
itself upon him, his cheerfulness did not desert 
him, and his weakness was borne with a cotirage 
that showed his abiding serenity of spirit. 
What this meant to him and to Mrs. Carstein 
and to all those whom he met in his native 
land on his trip abroad can well be imagined. 
Cambridge parts sorrowfully with such a 
man as Mr. Carstein, who spent here an active 



and highly useful and honorable career. His 
memory and his example, however, will long 
remain as one of the city's best heritages. 



Dr. A. P. CLARKE 

Clarke, Dr. Augustus P., who was one 
of the leading physicians of the University 
Cit}', was bom in Pawtucket, R.I., September 
24, 1833, being the son of Seth Darling and 
Fanny (Peck) Clarke, both lineal descendants 
of the earliest Puritans who were among the 
most influential settlers of Plymouth, Boston, 
Dorchester, Hingham, Roxbury, Dedham and 
Mendon in Massachusetts, and Providence, 
Newport, Portsmouth and Warwick, in Rhode 
Island. His father was of the eighth genera- 
tion in descent from Joseph Clarke, who with 
his wife Alice came with the settlers comprising 
the first Dorchester company, that embarked 
at Plymouth, England, March 20, 1630, in 
the ship Mary and John. He was the ancestor 
of the late eminent Professor Edward H. Clarke 
of the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Clarke's 
mother was of the sixth in descent from Joseph 
Peck, who came in the ship Diligent from old 
Hingham, England, to Hingham, Mass., 1638. 
Among his ancestors who may be mentioned 
on his mother's side, was Dr. James Tallman, 
a physician in Portsmouth, R.I., in the early 
part of the eighteenth century. He was the 
son of Peter Tallman, who was general solicitor 
of the Colony; commissioner and deputy of 
Rhode Island. Abraham Staples was another 
ancestor who served in Captain Poole's com- 
pany in the war against King Philip, in 1675. 
Another ancestor on his father's side was 
Rev. Ebenezer Kencks, ordained pastor of 
the First Baptist church of Providence, in 1719. 
Still another paternal ancestor was David 
Thompson, who settled in 1619 on Thompson's 
Island, Boston Harbor, prior to the landing 
of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. He was a 
"Scottish gentleman, scholar and traveller." 
Among the other direct lineal descendants may 
be mentioned Richard Everett, who was also 
the ancestor of the late orator Edward Everett, 
and Maturin Ballou, Universalist preacher and 
author. Another ancestor on his father's 
side that may be mentioned was Geary Puffer; 



BIOGRAPHIES 



177 



he, in 1639, settled in Mount Wollaston, Mass., 
and became an ancestor of the late Hon. Charles 
Sumner. 

Dr. Clarke attended the public schools in 
his native state and fitted for college in the 
University Preparator}^ School, Providence, 
R.I., where he entered college receiving the 
degree of A.M. from Brown University in the 
class of 1861. Before leaving college he began 
the study of medicine under the direction of 
Dr. Lewis L. Miller, a graduate of Brown, who 
at that time, was the most eminent surgeon 
of Rhode Island. Dr. Clarke received his 
degree M.D. from the Harvard Medical School. 

On September 30, 1861, he was appointed 
Assistant-Surgeon of the 6th Regiment New 
York Cavalry. He served in the Peninsular 
Campaign under General MacClellan, was at 
the siege of Yorktown and in that concatena- 
tion of Seven Days' Battles including those 
at Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Peach Orchard 
and Savages' Station in June, 1S62. On 
June 29th (1862) he was on duty at the great 
field hospital at Savages' Station, and realizing 
that the hospital would soon be captured, he 
preferred to remain caring for the woimded, 
and thus, though on duty, to become a prisoner 
of war and to endure all the hardships incident 
to such trying service, than to abandon the 
many helpless victims to the unready hands 
of the enemy. By his persistent eflorts he was 
allowed to continue for several weeks' attend- 
ance on the wounded until all were duly ex- 
changed. 

He was promoted to the rank of full surgeon 
in the same regiment on May 5th, 1863, and 
served under General Dix in an expedition 
against Richmond in the spring and summer 
of 1863, and under General Meade with the 
Cavalry Corps in the Rappahannock Campaign 
and in all the operations of the army of the 
Potomac in the autumn of the same year. 

On the opening campaign of 1864, undertaken 
by General Grant, Dr. Clarke was appointed 
the surgeon-in-chief of the Second Brigade, 
First Cavalr>' Division, and was on duty in all 
the operations undertaken by General Sheridan 
of that year. 

At the opening of the campaign of 1S65 under 
General Grant, he was appointed surgeon-in- 
chief of all General Sheridan's First Cavalry 



Division, and was with Sheridan in his "colos- 
sal raid" from Winchester to Petersburg, and 
in the Battle of Five Forks and other battles 
until the surrender of the enemy at Appomatox 
Court House, April 9, 1865. 

During his four years' service, the war 
records show unmistakably that he participated 
in ninety-two (92) battles and engagements 
with the enemy. He was commissioned at 
the close of the war, on recommendation of 
his superior officers, brevet-lieutenant colonel 




Dr. .\. p. CL.\RKE 

and colonel of volunteers for faithful and meri- 
torious conduct during his term of service. 

Dr. Clarke next spent some time in study 
at the medical schools and hospitals in London, 
Paris and Leipzig, returning in 1866 to Cam- 
bridge, where he soon established himself in 
practice of his profession and where he resided. 

He was a member of the Massachusetts Medi- 
cal Society ; of the American Academy of Medi- 
cine, and was the chairman of the committee 
of arrangements at its meeting in Boston, 1906; 
member of the American Medical Association, 



178 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



and was vice-president of that body, now 
numbering seventy-five thousand members, 
in 1S95-9U, and was chairman of the section on 
physiology, 1897. He was vice-president of 
the Pan-American Medical Congress, at its 
meeting at Mexico City, Mexico, 1S9G. He was 
elected by the Russian Board, honorary presi- 
dent of the XII International Medical Congress 
held at Moscow, Russia, by invitation of his 
August Majesty, the Czar of Russia, 1897. He 
was also honored in 1890 by an invitation to 
contribute a paper which he read before the 
International Medical Congress, in Berlin, 
Germany. This paper was favorably received 
and an abstract of the same was at the time 
published in some of the German Medical 
Journals. He was a fotmder of the American 
Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 
in 1888, and wrote original and valuable con- 
tributions to its yearly published volumes 
for twenty years. He was a founder of the 
Cambridge Society for Medical Improvement, 
and was its secretary from 1869 to 1874. He 
was a member of the Association of Military 
Surgeons of the United States, member of the 
New England Historic-Genealogical Society. 
He was a member of the Boston Medical Library 
Association. 

He was a member of the Sons of the American 
Revolution, his great-grandfather, Captain 
Ichobod Clarke, having served in that war in 
the army under General John Sullivan in Rhode 
Island, 1777-78, and his grandfather, Joel Peck, 
having served in Captain Thomas Allen's 
company under the same general commander. 
He was a frequent and authoritative contribu- 
tor on subjects connected with his chosen pro- 
fession to medical societies and journals. He 
was the author of a volume "Clarke's Kindred 
Genealogies," 1896, and author of a volume, 
"Transactions of the Gynecological Society of 
Boston," written while Secretary of that body, 
1901-1905, and of a "Book of Poems, 1896." 
He was a member of the Military Order of the 
Loyal Legion and was elected a member of the 
Council, 1895-1896. He was a member of the 
Cambridge Club, of the Boston Commandery 
Knights Templars, of the Amicable Lodge, 
F. and A.M., and member of Cambridge Lodge, 
No. 13, I.O.O.F.; member of the Boston Brown 
Alumni Association, and of the Harvard 



Medical Alumni Association, and charter 
member of the Post 56, G.A.R. He was a 
member of the Cambridge common council, 
1871-3, serving on the committee on finance, 
etc., and a member of the board of aldermen, 
1874, serving on the committee on health and 
other committees. He was soon subsequently 
most influential in effecting the establishment 
of an independent board of health for Cam- 
bridge, as now organized. 

He married in 1861, Mary Hannah, daughter 
of Gideon Gray, the fifth in descent from 
Edward Gray, of Plymotith, Mass., who mar- 
ried, January 16, 1651, Mary Winslow, daughter 
of John and Mary (Chilton) Winslow of May- 
flower fame. By Dr. Clarke's marriage he 
had two daughters, Inez Louise and Gene\'ieve 
Clarke, both educated in the arts at Radclifife 
College, and both in medicine at Tufts College 
Medical School, where each received the degree 
of doctor of medicine. They are now in active 
practice of the profession. Mrs. Clarke died 
May 30, 1892. Dr. Clarke issued in 1911, the 
second edition, enlarged, of his original poems, 
entitled "A Volume of Original Poems." 

This, then, is the career, briefly stated, of a 
man to whom Cambridge points as an heir to 
those qualities of his Puritan ancestors which 
had such a profotmd influence in the building 
up of the coinmunities that settled in Massa- 
chusetts; and whose life she considers irre- 
futable evidence that the strong moral prin- 
ciples and the stem determination to follow 
the dictates of conscience have not become 
impoverished in transmission. The events 
narrated above without adornment are per- 
haps the best commentary on the loyalty to 
duty that was always the guiding motive of 
Dr. Clarke's acts. Consider for a moment 
what it meant to be a military surgeon during 
the four years of the fratricidal conflict, that 
terrible period when the fate of the nation 
hung in the balance. The soldier, rifle or 
saber in hand, facing the enemy, finds, in the 
excitement which the lust to kill (latent, it 
is said, in even the most civilized) arouses in 
him, a kind of narcotic, as it were, by which 
the sensation of fear and horror is benumbed. 
The surgeon must, above all things, avoid any 
excitement, because his work requires him to 
be calm and self-possessed; he must, therefore, 



BIOGRAPHIES 



179 



depend only on his sense of duty and his human- 
ity to help him endure the sights and sounds 
of the battle-field. Nor can he rest when the 
victory is won; then, indeed, his labors seem 
to be just beginning, for he must hasten night 
and day in his efforts to heal wounds, ameho- 
rate suffering, and forestall the dread diseases 
that are the usual concomitants of war. Bear- 
ing all this in mind, one reads with a new under- 
standing the line which says that Dr. Clarke 
was in ninety-two battles and engagements. 
Since the close of the war his activity had 
been constant. In spite of the demands made 
on his time by practical professional duties, 
he, nevertheless, added to the literature of 
medicine; for, not content with personally 
alleviating the distress of those who came 
directly under his care, he crystallized the 
results of his experience and study in the 
volumes and monographs which the medical 
world has received with so much appreciation. 
Furthermore, he even found time to give ex- 
pression to his love of belles letires, in the book 
of verse of which he is the author. Many 
would claim that having served humanity 
at large so well, they should be exempted from 
the duties of civic and political life. Dr. Clarke 
made no such plea, but, as a member of the 
city government, devoted some of his best 
efforts to Cambridge. Alwa^'s a believer in 
the power for good of organized effort, he allied 
himself with many professional, fraternal and 
social bodies, gi\'ing them both his moral and 
financial support. His home life, almost ideal, 
had only one cloud, the death of his wife, in 
1892. His two daughters well repaid his tender 
indulgence and well-directed care in their rear- 
ing, by the consolation they gave him. He 
had no sons, but his daughters, who have taken 
up his chosen profession, were of late able to 
ease him part of its burdens. Many families 
that relied on him in the hour of need still 
continue in the feeling of security that comes 
from the knowledge that life and health are 
being watched over by one who has mastered 
the art of healing, knowing that his ability 
has been inherited b}' his children. 
Dr. Clarke died Aoril 22, 1912. 



EDWARD E. CLARK 
Clark, Edw.\rd E., was bom in Cambridge, 
Mass., November 4, 1870. He is the son of 
Martin V. B. and Sarah M. (Rollins) Clark, 
both natives of New Hampshire. Edward E. 
Clark attended the Willard Primary, the Web- 
ster Grammar, and the Cambridge Latin Schools, 
and entered Harvard College in 1890. De- 
pendent upon his own resources in acquiring 
a college education, he supported himself by 
doing newspaper work and tutoring, and, in 
1894, graduated from Harv-ard with the degree 




EDW.\RD E. CL.\RK 

of A.B. He then attended the Hansard Law 
School, and was admitted to the Bar in 1897. 

Closely identified with Cambridge life from 
his boyhood days, he has the knowledge of city 
affairs, the training, the education, the tem- 
perament and the other qualifications necessary 
to fit him to serve in any position with credit 
to his constituents. 

He is a member of Amicable Lodge, F.&A.M. ; 
the Economy Club of Cambridge; Dunster 
Lodge, 1. 0.0. P.: Citizens' Trade Association; 
Cambridge Lodge of Elks; Middlesex Club; 



180 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Economic Club of Boston; and many other 
social and political organizations. 

Mr. Clark's first entry into politics was 
made in 1900, when he became a member of 
the Cambridge Common Council, and he re- 
mained there four years; in 1903 he was elected 
and served as president of that body. During 
his service in the council, he was a member of 
all the important committees, including those 
on finance, claims, city charter, legislative 
matters, etc., thus being enabled to acquire 
an intimate knowledge of how the city's business 
and financial affairs should be conducted. 

He was sent to the House of Representatives 
from Cambridge, in 1904, and was re-elected 
in 1905. 

During the years when Cambridge Repub- 
licans were passing through the most trying 
experience that had ever come to them in the 
history of the party of that city, after the Demo- 
crats, under the leadership of Mayor McNamee, 
had wTcsted the control of the City Government 
from them, Mr. Clark was a member of the 
Common Council and was chosen president of 
that body. The Democrats were in complete 
possession of the Board of Aldermen and the 
Mayoralty, and the Non-Partisanship idea 
found expression only through a bare majority 
in the Common Council. 

His inctmibency of the office of president 
of the lower branch became, therefore, in many 
respects, a noteworthy one. There were occa- 
sions when turbulence and dissension threatened 
to overwhelm the sessions of the lower branch, 
and only the exercise of rare judgment and dis- 
crimination prevented subversion of the delib- 
erative character of its proceedings. Mr. Clark 
succeeded admirably in perfonning the task 
devolving upon him. So well did he act his 
part that, when he aspired to represent the 
fourth representative district on Beacon Hill, 
his fitness for the higher legislative arena was 
immediately recognized and his election was 
assured. 



age of sixteen he came to Boston, and imme- 
diately began to profit by the opportunities 
afforded to a youth of courage and energy'. At 
the age of twenty-one he joined his father and 
brother in a co-partnership for the manufacture 
of fancy crackers. In 1861 he began, upon his 
own account, the manufacture of confectionery 
in East Cambridge, employing at the outset 
about half a dozen hands. His energy and 
business sagacity enabled him to develop the 
large and successful establishment which he 
controlled. On February 23, 1879, the frame 
structure in which his business was located 




GEORGE CLOSE 

Close, George, one of the most prominent 
and public-spirited citizens of Cambridge, was 
bom in Stratford, England, in 1845. At the 



GEORGE CLOSE 

was totally destroyed by fire; but with char- 
acteristic energy he immediately began the 
erection of the spacious building on Broadway, 
which, at the time IMr. Close was taken ill, he 
had begun to enlarge. By untiring attention 
to details, always among the first to adopt 
improved methods of production, he had de- 
veloped a business that required several hundred 
employees, and yielded a product of about 
ten tons of confectionery daily. ]\Ir. Close 
had rendered valuable public service to the 
city of Cambridge in various capacities. He 
was a member of the Common Coimcil in 1883, 
of the Board of Aldennen in 1885 and 1886, and 
of the House of Representatives in 1888. Mr. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



181 



Close was a member of Dunster Lodge of Odd 
Fellows; Amicable Lodge, F.&A.M.; Royal 
Arcanum; New England Confectioners' Club; 
and the Universalist Club of Boston. He was 
for several years president of the Howard Benevo- 
lent Association, and had been active in various 
charitable movements. He was a director of 
the Cambridge Electric Light Company and 
other corporations, and was connected with the 
Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 
He was a member of the Cambridge Club and 
of the Citizens' Trade Association, of which 
he had been president. Mr. Close was a member 
of the First Universalist Church. He died at 
his summer home at Allerton, Mass., August 18, 
1911. He is survived by two sons, George E. 
Close and Frank D. Close, and four daughters: 
Mrs. Florence A. Gale, Mrs. Alice L. Mandell 
of Newton, Mrs. Bertha M. Bunton and Miss 
F. Evelyn Close. He also leaves two sisters, 
Miss Caroline Close and Mrs. John F. Moore, 
of Allston. 



Cambridge Hospital; a director in the Charles 
River National Bank; and president and 




EDWARD R. COGSWELL, M.D. 



EDvV.ARD R. COGSWELL 



Cogswell, Edward R., was bom in South 
Berwick, Me., June 1, 1841, and came to Cam- 
bridge in April, 1852. He entered Harvard 
College in 1860. In August, 1862, he enlisted 
in Company F, 44th Regiment of the Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Militia, and served with 
that regiment as a non-commissioned officer 
until the following June, when the regiment 
was mustered out of ser\'ice. 

After leaving college, he entered the Harvard 
Medical School, from which he was graduated 
in 1867 and immediately entered upon the prac- 
tice of his profession in this city. 

When an independent Board of Health for 
the city was established in March, 1878, he 
was appointed its executive officer, resigning 
at the close of the year 1879. In June, 1869, he 
was chosen a member of the School Committee, 
upon which Board he serv^ed over ten years. 
In the years 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1890, he was 
a member of the Board of Aldermen, and from 
1885 to 1887 a trustee of the Public Library. 

At the present time, he is a trustee of the 



member of the Board of Investment of the 
Cambridge Savings Bank. 



FRANCIS COGSWELL 

Cogswell, Francis, formerly Superintendent 
of the Schools of Cambridge, was bom in Atkin- 
son, N.H., June 24, 1827, being the son of 
Joseph B. and Judith J. Cogswell. He attended 
school at the Atkinson Academy and at the 
Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, N.H., 
and taught district schools in Merrimac, George- 
town and Weymouth, Mass. He also conducted 
a private school in Georgetown for one or two 
years. His first connection with the Cambridge 
schools was in April, 1854, when he was elected 
Master of the Putnam School, which position 
he held for about twenty years. In Septem- 
ber, 1874, he was elected Superintendent of 
Schools and held that position until 1905. 
Mr. Cogswell's work at the head of the school 
department needs no encomium. For the 
twenty-two years of his administration the edu- 



182 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



cational development of the City kept ahead, 
of its rapid, general growth, and Cambridge 
public schools are looked upon today as models. 
He has contributed quite extensively to educa- 
tional publications. Har\-ard College honored 
him with the degree of Master of Arts in 1861. 



HIRAM M. COMSTOCK 

CoMSTOCK, HiR.\M M., SOU of Israel Comstock, 

was born at Strafford, Vt., October 19, 1833. 

He was a descendant, in the eighth generation, 

of William Comstock, his immigrant ancestor, 




HIRAM M. COMSTOCK 

who, in the early seventeenth century, came 
from England with his wife Elizabeth, settled 
first in Wethersfield, Conn., and subsequently 
removed to New London. The subject of this 
sketch was educated in the district schools of 
his native town. At the age of eighteen he 
came to Boston, and a few years later engaged 
in business with Charles S. Gove, under the 
firm name of Comstock & Gove, manufacturers 
of soda water. The business prospered ex- 
ceedingly under Mr. Comstock's direction, 
which as head of the firm he continued up to 
the time of his death on March 22, 1883. 



He was a well-known and highly-esteemed 
citizen of Cambridge, w'here he made his home 
and where his widow still resides. He was a 
prominent Free Mason, being a member of 
Cambridge Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; 
Boston Commandery, Knights Templar; and 
other Masonic bodies; and had taken the thirty- 
second degree of Masonry. Mr. Comstock 
married January 1, 1857, Betsey J. Richardson, 
boni in Corinth, Vt., daughter of Henry and 
Charlotte (Batchelder) Richardson. Her father 
was a descendant, in the seventh generation 
from William Richardson, who, bom in England 
in 1620, came to Massachusetts about 1640, with 
his brother Edward. One child was bom of 
this marriage, but died in infancy. Mrs. Com- 
stock has been from early life a lover of art, and 
when quite young she developed a talent for 
painting. After the death of her husband she 
pursued her art studies under some of the best 
masters in this country and in Europe, and 
has attained a creditable rank among contem- 
porary artists. This gift has been consecrated 
to charity. The proceeds from the sale of her 
pictures are devoted to some worthy cause. 
Mrs. Comstock is a New England woman of 
the best type, and among her many sterling 
qualities the most conspicuous are covirage, 
cheerfulness and charity. She is a member of 
the Shepard Memorial Church, Cambridge; 
of Hannah Winthrop Chapter, Daughters of 
the American Revolution; and of the Society 
of the Founders and Patriots of America. 

Both the Comstocks and the Richardson 
family were identified with the important events 
of the colonial and revolutionar}- periods. 
Alfred E. Richardson, bom May 25, 1832, who 
was engaged in architecture and building in 
Boston for many years, was a brother of Mrs. 
Comstock. He died in Strafford, Vt., April 4, 
1880. 



JOHN W. COVENEY 

CovENEY, John W., one of the most 
prominent men in Cambridge, was bom in 
Cambridge, April 10, 1845. He received his 
education in the public schools of Cambridge. 
In 1861, when Sumter was fired upon, he enhsted 
at the age of 16 as a volunteer, and marched to 
the defence of the Union, in the Twenty-sixth 



BIOGRAPHIES 



183 



Massachusetts Regiment. He ser\'ed under 
Butler at New Orleans, and in the campaign 
of the Gulf. On his return from the war, he 
began work as an undertaker in Cambridge, 
which business he carried on successfully. On 
his return to Cambridge he became prominent 
in the politics of Old Ward Three, and, with his 
brother, Jeremiah W. Coveney, the late post- 
master of Boston, made the initial mo\-e that 
won recognition for the people of the Irish race 
in that section of the city. 

Although a factor in political matters in his 
section of the City, he did not seek office for 
himself until 1886, when he was elected a member 
of the Common Council. He was re-elected 
in 1887, and his fearlessness won him the respect 
of all with whom he came in contact. 

In the fall of 1887 his record in the Council 
was recognized by his nomination and election 
to the legislature as a representative from what 
was then the fifth, now the third, Middlesex 
district. He was re-elected in 1888, and again 
in 1889. During his three years in the House 
his ability was quickly recognized, and he ranked 
high among the Democratic leaders of that time. 
He was unyielding in his fealty to the interest 
of the Democratic Party, and was among the 
most aggressive debaters in the House. 

In 1891 and 1892 he served in the State Senate 
and was on the committee on railroads and 
mercantile affairs. He was also chairman of 
the committee on library. He served on the 
Boards of Aldermen of 1902, 1903, 1904 and 
1905. In the fall of 1903 he accepted a Non- 
partisan nomination to the Board of Aldermen 
and was one of the Non-Partisan majority in 
the Board that upheld the hands of Mayor 
Daley during his first term in 1904. He was 
chosen by the Non-Partisans as president of 
the Board, and he served impartially and well. 
He was re-elected as a Non-Partisan member 
of the Board for 1905, being one of the two 
Non-Partisans elected. In the suinmer he 
announced that he would not seek re-election 
to that body again. 

He was a man of magnetic personality, an 
interesting talker, a hard fighter for whatever 
interests he represented. In the turbulent days 
in the Aldennanic Chamber, he proved himself 
a master on questions of parliamentary proced- 



ure and was quick to take ad\'antage of openings 
left by his adversaries. 




JOHN W. COVEXEV 

Mr. Coveney died Wednesday, April 14, 1909, 
being survived by his wife and two daughters. 
Mrs. Coveney died in January, 1912. 



GEORGE HOWLAND COX 

Cox, George Howland, youngest child of 
James and Mercy Nye (Howland) Cox, was 
bom October 9, 1854, in Fairhaven, formerly 
New Bedford, Mass. He attended the pubUc 
schools of his native place, and was so well 
equipped that he was enabled to enter the West 
Point Military Academy. Owing to his ill 
health he was obliged to resign, and this was 
the occasion of his reluctantly entering upon a 
civil rather than a military career. However, 
this change was anything but disastrous so far 
as concerns material success. He was proven 
himself an admirable financier, as is attested 
by his successful labors as president of the Cam- 
bridge Trust Company and a member of its 
directorate; and his abilities as an executive 
officer have been abundantlj* e\-idenced in vari- 
ous important positions, as president of the 
Cambridge Park Commission, and a member 



184 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



of the State Armory Commission. His interest 
in local benevolent and charitable institutions 
is manifested by his connection with the Cam- 
bridge Home for Aged People, as director and 
treasurer of the Cambridge Hospital, the Cam- 
bridge School for Nurses and the Dowse Insti- 
tute, in each of which he is a trustee. He is 
an active member of leading ])atriotic and social 



daughter of Zenas and Mary (Toby) Whitter- 
more, of New Bedford. 




GEORGE HOWLAND COX 



bodies^the society of Colonial Wars; the Good 
Government League of Cambridge, in which he 
is a director; the Colonial Club and the Cam- 
bridge Club of Cambridge, in each of which he 
is an ex-president; the Saint Botolph Club of 
Boston; and the Oakley Country Club of Water- 
town. He is also a member of the Cambridge 
Board of Trade, and has served as president of 
that body. He is affiliated with Amicable 
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Cam- 
bridge. He is a member of the Unitarian Church, 
and in politics is a Republican. 

Mr. Cox married, in New Bedford, September 
25, 1877, Ella P. Whittermore, and they have 
one child, George Howland, Jr., bom February 
S, 1880. The family residence is Riverbank 
Court, Cambridge. Mrs. Cox is the youngest 



JAMES VALENTINE COX 

Cox, James Valentine, son of Gershom 
Flagg Cox, was born in Hallowell, Me., Jiily 1, 
1813. Like his ancestors he followed the sea. 
He made his home at New Bedford, Mass., and 
engaged in whaling, rising step by step to the 
position of master. He made many voyages 
at a time when the whaling industry was very 
profitable, and amassed considerable wealth 
for his day. He served several years in the 
office of inspector of customs at New Bedford, 
and held various other positions of trust and 
honor in New Bedford. He married, November 
19, 1838, Mercy Nye, daughter of John and 
Mercy (Howland) Nye, of Fairhaven, Mass. 
He married second, Annie E. Edwards, Octo- 
ber 5, 1869. He died November 23, 1884, be- 
loved and honored by the entire community. 
Children: James Nye; Myra; George Howland, 
born October 9, 1854. 



JOHN F. CROCKER 

Crocker, John F., son of Isaiah and Deborah 
(Goodnow) Crocker, was born in South Yar- 
mouth in 1851. His early education was in the 
public schools of that town. Later he studied 
at the Friends' School at Providence. In 1869 
he entered business as the Cape Cod representa- 
tive of a Boston grocery company. He took 
up business for himself in 1884, forming the 
firm of Crocker & Eldridge, now Eldridge, Baker 
& Co. He devoted his time to this business 
until 1891, when he retired for two years. 

In November, 1894, Mr. Crocker succeeded 
to the business of Wallace F. Robinson & Co., 
and in 1896 consolidated the firm with Niles 
Bros., in a corporation known as the Boston 
Packing and Provision Co., of which he became 
treasurer and manager. Reorganization of this 
corporation was effected in 1898, and it was 
merged with the John P. Squire Coinpany, vdth 
Mr. Crocker as general manager. He remained 
with the finn until 1906, when he fonned the 
banldng firm of Crocker & Fisher, of Boston. 
In 1910, he retired from active business, but 



BIOGRAPHIES 



185 



had devoted a great deal of time to business at 
Leroy, N.Y., where is located the Leroy Cold 
Storage & Produce Co., of which he was vice- 
president and treasurer. 

Mr. Crocker was married, in 1874, to Martha 
A. Earle of Boston. Their children are Avis W., 
Grace G., Martha E., John F., Jr., Allan E., 
Richard S. and Stewart M. Mr. Crocker died 
December 6, 1911. 



HENRY J. CUNNINGHAM 

Cunningham, Henry J., commissioner of 
public safety, was graduated from St. Dunstan's 
College in 1887, after which he entered upon a 
five years' course of philosophy and theology 
at the famous Urban University, commonly 
known as the College of the Propaganda, Rome. 
His health failed him, however, and at the end 
of two years, he returned home, finally abandon- 
ing the ministry and devoting himself to the 
business which he has carried on with such 
pronounced success. 

In 1894 he established the real estate firm 
of Cunningham Brothers, one of the largest 
in Cambridge. He was the active member of 
the finn until this year (1912) when he retired 
in order to give his entire time to the city as 
Commissioner of Public Safety. The ap[3oint- 
ment was made by Mayor Barry, under the 
provisions of the Act of the Legislatm-e of May 
20, 1912, which places the police and fire de- 
partments of Cambridge in charge of a single 
commissioner. 

Mr. Cunningham has long been interested 
in social, commercial and political interests of 
the city, and has taken an active part in public 
life for several years. He has been on the 
executive committee of the Cambridge Tax- 
payers' Association, a member of the Citizens' 
Trade Association, and of the Intercolonial 
Club of Boston; was formerly president of the 
Catholic Union of Cambridge; one of the 
founders of the Hospital Aid Society of the 
Holy Ghost hospital, and today acts as one of 
its board of directors. Mr. Cunningham's 
judgment as an insurance man is highly re- 
garded. He was for several years a member of 
the rating committee of the Cambridge Board 
of Fire Underwriters. He was the first chair- 



man of the Board of Trustees of Cambridge 
lodge of Elks. He is one of the ablest of our 
citizens. A man of education, he brings within 
the circle of business a ripeness of culture and 
breadth of courtesy which has greatly assisted 
his keen intelligence in carving out his high 




HENRY J. CUNNI.VGHAM 

position among local business men. Mr. Cun- 
ningham was fomicrly chief of police of Cam- 
bridge. He is an active leader in Democratic 
affairs in the city. Mr. Cunningham is a bache- 
lor and resides at Camelia Avenue. 



THOMAS EDWARD CUNNINGHAM, M.D. 

Cunningham, Thomas Edward, M.D., son 
of John and Mary (Murphy) Cunningham, was 
bom in Prince Edward Island, January 5, 1851. 
His general education was obtained in the schools 
of his native town and at St. Dunstan's College, 
Charlottetown, P.E.I. Then he began the study 
of medicine with Dr. Breer of Charlottetown, 
a leading practitioner of that place, and in 1870 
came to Boston. Two years after he entered 
the Harvard Medical School. Graduating in 
1876, he established himself in Cambridge, and 



186 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



in a few years built up a large and successful 
practice. He is a member of the Harvard 
Alumni Association, Massachusetts Medical 
Society, Cambridge Medical Improvement Asso- 
ciation, Boston Medical Library, Advisory 
Board of the Hospital for Contagious Diseases, 
American Medical Association. He organized 
the Hospital Aid Society of the Holy Ghost 




THOMAS EDWARD CUNNINGHAM, M.D. 

Hospital; and for the first five years was the 
only visiting physician ; he was the first Medical 
Director of the Hospital. 

Dr. Cunningham has been married twice. 
His first marriage occurred in 1879, to Miss 
Marj' Dooley (deceased) ; and the second on 
February 3, 1891, to Miss Mary Kane. He 
has two children, Edward and Thomas Cunning- 
ham. 



SAMUEL SILAS CURRY 
Curry, Samuel Silas, president of the 
School of Expression, Boston, author and 
educator, was bom on a farm in Chatata, 
Bradley County, Tenn., November 23, 1847. 
His father, James Campbell Curry, was a 
farmer, characterized by honesty and upright- 
ness. He married Nancy Young, a relative 



of David Crockett. Dr. Curry's great-great- 
grandfather on his father's side was Robert 
Campbell (1755-1831), brother of Col. Andrew 
Campbell and of Col. Arthur Campbell (17-15- 
1781), whose ancestors came from Scotland 
through the north of Ireland and settled in 
Augusta Coimty, Va. Dr. Curry's great-grand- 
mother had eight uncles in the battle of King's 
Mountain. 

Samuel Silas Curry was brought up in the 
country on his father's farm. He did his full 
share of hard work while preparing himself 
for college during the period of the Civil War 
and, while at college, during vacations. He had 
few books in childhood, but studied history by 
the advice of his father. 

He planned to enter one of the eastern col- 
leges, but through the influence of Dr. N. E. 
Cobleigh, president of East Tennessee Wesleyan 
University, at Athens, he matriculated there, 
in 1869, taking his A.B. degree in 1872, with 
the highest honors of the class or of any pre- 
vious class of the college, having done four 
years' work in two and a half years of resi- 
dence. He had an imaginative and artistic 
temperament. 

Literature was from his childhood his ambi- 
tion, and President Cobleigh therefore advised 
him to adopt it as a profession. He entered 
Boston University as a post-graduate student, 
taking within eight years the successive degrees 
of A.D., A.M. and Ph.D. Much of his work 
was done in the Boston Public Library, where 
he pursued many courses in reading and inde- 
pendent investigation. He was teacher of 
Latin and Greek in New Hampshire Seminary 
in the spring of 1873. In 1878 he was gradu- 
ated in the Boston Universit}' School of Oratory. 
He had expected to enter the ministry-, when 
the loss of his voice compelled him to relin- 
quish his plans, but not till after he had taken 
vocal lessons of specialists in all parts of the 
world in hopes of regaining his voice. This 
experience led him to take up the teaching of 
speaking as his life-work. 

In 1879, on the death of Prof. Lewis B. 
Mimroe, dean of the Boston University School 
of Oratory, and the consequent discontinuance 
of the School of Oratory, he became instructor 
of elocution and oratory in the College of 
Liberal Arts connected with the University. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



187 



He made three trips to Europe, and while 
there was a pupil of Lamperti, James, Good- 
sonne and Ricquier, and had the advice and 
counsel of Regnier with the privilege of ob- 
serving the methods at I'Ecole de Declamation 
in the Conservatoire. Besides his instructions 
from these masters, he was a pupil for several 
years of Steele Mackaye, the pupil and succes- 
sor of Delsarte, and Mackaye made him a 
tempting offer to take charge of a school of 
acting in New York City, which he declined. 
In 18S3 he was made Snow professor of orator}' 
in Boston University, and in ISSO, he was 
granted the privilege of arranging special 
classes from the overflow of applicants, and 
these classes in 1884 became a part of the School 
of Expression. In 1888 he presented to the 
directors of the University the alternative of 
allowing him to establish a separate depart- 
ment, or to accept his resignation as a teacher 
in the University. An increase in salary and 
other advantages were offered to him, but the 
University again declined to recognize officially 
a school of oratory, and he thereupon resigned 
and devoted the time thus released to develop- 
ing the School of Expression which had already 
become well known. He has been acting Davis 
professor of oratory at Newton Theological 
Institution from 1884; instructor in elocution, 
Harvard College, 1891-94; in Harvard Divinity 
School, 1892-19U2; instructor in Yale Divinity 
School, 1892-1902; Teachers' College of Colum- 
bia University; the University of Chicago; 
lecturer on art, the State University of Minne- 
sota, The State University of Washington, 
and in many other leading educational insti- 
tutions throtighout the country. 

In 1895 he founded a quarterly review. Ex- 
pression, and made it the organ of the School 
of Expression. Its aim, like that of the school, 
is to show the relation of vocal training to 
education; to make the spoken word the ex- 
ponent and servant of the highest literature, 
and thus to save elocution from becoming 
merely mechanical and artificial; to raise the 
standard of public taste and to prove the possi- 
bility of successfully reading the best literature 
in public entertainments. Sir Henry Irving 
gave a recital for the benefit of the school, in 
18SS, the proceeds endowing the Irving 
lectureship. 



From this school-teaching experience, Dr. 
Curry undertook a series of works based upon 
his investigations and discoveries in regard to 
voice training, vocal expression and delivery, 
and the relations of these to art, with a view 
of publishing them as text-books. The first 
of these was "The Province of Expression" 
(1891), followed by "A Text-Book on Vocal 
Expression" (1895); "Imagination and Dra- 
matic Instinct" (1896) ; "The Vocal and Liter- 
ary Interpretation of the Bible" (1904); 
"Alexander Melville Bell," (1906); "Founda- 




SAMUEL SILAS CURRY 

tions of Expression" (1907); "Browning and 
the Dramatic Monologue" (1908); "Mind and 
Voice" (1908). He also edited "Classics for 
Vocal Expression," (188S), and has several 
volumes (ready for publication) in prepara- 
tion. 

He received the degree of Litt.D. from Colby 
University in 1905. He served the Boston 
Art Club for fifteen years as librarian. He has 
made scientific investigation of the cause of 
minister's sore throat, of stammering, of the 
primary cause of the misuse of the voice, of 
the fundamental principles underlying the 
science of training the voice, also of training 
the body. He has endeavored to reform all 



188 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



elocutionary teaching, and to show that true 
speaking can only be taught by stimulating 
the processes of the mind. In speaking of his 
experiences he says: "Young people should 
dare to do as they dream ; to think about what 
they do and to act out what they think; not 
to be governed too much by outer influences." 
In 1882 he married Anna Baright, of Pough- 
keepsie, N.Y. Miss Baright was of a long 
line of Quaker ancestors, including the Car- 
penters, Deans, Mabbets and Thomes, well- 
known families of Duchess County. Her 
maternal great-grandfather, the only break 
in the Quaker line, was Gen. Samuel Augustus 
Barker, who served in both wars between the 
United States and Great Britain, and after- 
ward was a member of the New York Legis- 
lature. Mrs. Curry was a graduate of the 
Boston University School of Oratory, and 
has been a teacher at the School of Expression 
from its establishment. They have had six 
children, of whom four are living. 



FREDERICK W. DALLINGER 

Dallinger, Frederick W., was bom in 
Cambridge, October 2, 1871, graduated from 
the Cambridge Latin School in 1889, entering 
Harvard College in the fall of the latter year, 
where, in 1893, he received the degree of A.B. 
summa cum laudc. He received the degree of 
A.M. in 1894, and of LL.B. in 1897. During 
his eight years at the university he paid his 
expenses by working during the summer and 
by private tutoring. He was one of the origi- 
nators of intercollegiate debating, having been 
secretary and president of the old Harvard 
Union, a member of the victorious Harvard 
debating teams in 1892 and 1893, and the man- 
ager and coach of many subsequent Harvard 
teams. He was also president of the Harvard 
International Law Club, and a member of many 
other college organizations. In the fall of 1893 
he was elected to the Massachusetts House of 
Representatives and was re-elected by a large 
majority the following year. 

As chairman of the committee on county 
estimates, single-handed, at a time when reform 
was not popular, he fought the state and county 
machines of his own party and succeeded in 



securing the enactment of laws completely 
reorganizing the whole system of county finances. 
He was one of a handful of Republican members 
who supported Governor Greenhalge in his veto 
of the Fall River police bill and of the Bell tele- 
phone stock watering bill. 

Because of his fearless attitude, a determined 
effort was made by the state and county ma- 
chine of his own party, the corporations and 
the liquor interests to prevent his return. Al- 
though it was for his own personal benefit to 
devote himself to his studies at the Harvard Law 




FREDERICK W. D.ALLIXGER 

School, he felt it his duty to the public to go 
back to the legislature. Accordingly he an- 
nounced himself as a candidate for the Senate, 
which body had blocked some of his measures 
in the interest of the people. His candidacy 
was ridiculed by the press, and a number of 
other strong candidates entered the field. He 
went straight to the people of Cambridge, how- 
ever, and carried every ward by large majorities, 
and received a unanimous nomination in the 
convention. His election was bitterly contested 
and a very large sum of money was spent to 
accomplish his defeat. Most of his enemies, 





Cluu^L^ 



BIOGRAPHIES 



189 



then, as now, were in his own political party, 
but he was elected by over 900 majority. 

In the Senate he made good, and the next 
year he was re-elected by 2,750 majority. 

He is a member and officer of the Cambridge 
Board of Trade, and is now (1912) sen-ing his 
third year as president. 

For many years he has been a director of the 
Cambridge Young Men's Christian Association, 
and was for some time vice-president of that 
beneficent organization. 

He is a member of the board of directors of 
the Odd Fellows Hall Association and was one 
of the incorporators of the Cambridge Masonic 
Hall Association. He is warden, treasurer and 
president of the Men's Club of the Church of 
the Ascension; vice-president of the Middlesex 
Branch of the Massachusetts Sunday School 
Union ; member of the council of the Middlesex 
Bar Association, and chairman of the legislative 
committee of the Massachusetts Conveyancers' 
Association. He has for many years been a 
public administrator for Middlesex Coimty and 
attorney for the Reliance and Columbian Co- 
operative Banks. 

Mr. Dallinger was awarded highest honors 
in political science by Hars'ard University, and 
in 1897 Longmans, Green & Co. published his 
book, "Nominations for Elective Office in the 
United States," which soon came to be recog- 
nized as a standard authority throughout the 
country. 

He is married and has four children — two 
boys and two girls. 



RICHARD HENRY DANA 
Dana, Richard Henry, lawyer, was bom 
in Cambridge, January- 3, 1851. His father, 
Richard Henry Dana (1815-1882), was a son 
of Richard Henry (1787-1879) and Ruth 
Charlotte (Smith) Dana, and grandson of 
Francis (1743-1811) and Elizabeth (Ellery) 
Dana, and John Wilson and Susanna (Tilling- 
hast) Smith, of Taunton, Mass., great-grandson 
of Richard (1700-1772) and Lydia (Trow- 
bridge) Dana, and of William Ellery, the signer, 
and a descendant from Richard and Ann 
(Ballard) Dana, through Daniel their youngest 
son and Naomi (Croswell) Dana, his wife. 
Richard Dana, the emigrant and progenitor 



of the Dana family in America, was probably 
of French descent. Richard settled in Cam- 
bridge by or before 1640 and died in 1690. 
Richard (1700-1772) of the third generation 
was graduated at Harvard, 1718, was a Son 
of Liberty, and presided at some of their 
meetings in Faneuil Hall. He subjected 
himself to the penalties of treason by taking 
the oath of Andrew Oliver, not to enforce the 
Stamp Act (1765). He was representative 
to the General Court and was at the head of 
the Boston bar. He married Lydia, daughter 
of Thomas and sister of Judge Edmund Trow- 
bridge, of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, 
one of the first to wear the scarlet and powdered 
wig. Francis Dana (174.3-1811), Harvard, 
1762, was a Son of Liberty, delegate to Conti- 
nental Congress from November, 1776 to 
1784-85, signer of the Articles of Confederation; 
United States Minister to Russia, 1781-83; 
judge of the Supreme Court of Massachu- 
setts, 1785-91, and Chief-Justice of Massa- 
chusetts, 1791-1806; a founder and vice- 
president of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences; LL.D., Harvard, 1792. 

Richard Henry (1787-1879) was the author, 
poet and essayist. He was one of the founders 
of the North American Review. Richard H. 
Dana (1815-1882) was the defender of Sims 
and Anthony Bums, fugitive slaves; counsel 
of the United States government before the 
International Conference at Hahfax, N.S., in 
1877, growing out of the Geneva Award of 
1872; author of "Two Years Before the Mast" 
(1840), (1869), "To Cuba and Back" (1859), 
"Annotations to Wheaton's International 
Law" (1886), etc. Richard Henry Dana, 
bom January 3, 1851, counts among his direct 
ancestors Governor Simon Bradstreet and 
Thomas Dudle}-, and the first American Poetess, 
Ann Bradstreet. He was prepared for college 
in public and private schools of Cambridge, 
Mass., and at St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H., 
and was graduated at Harvard University, 
class orator and A.B., 1874, and at the law 
school of the University LL.B., 1877. He was 
stroke oar of the freshman crew, 1870; for 
three years stroke oar and for two years 
captain of the University crew, and during his 
law course at the University he had the ad- 
vantage of extended travel in Europe, where 



190 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



he carried letters of introduction that brought 
him in contact with persons of distinction in 
society and statesmanship in every city he 
visited. He continued the study of law in 
the of^ce of Brooks, Ball & Storey, and in 
1879, made the trip in a sailing vessel from New 
York to San Francisco, in which voyage he 
visited many of the scenes so graphically 
described in his father's "Two Years Before 
the Mast." He declined the position of secre- 
tary of Legation at London, proftered by 
President Hayes in 1877, and on January 6, 
1878, he was married to Edith, daughter of 
Henry Wadsworth and Frances (Appleton) 
Longfellow, and one of the " blue-eyed banditti" 
of the poet's " Children's Hour." Six children, 
four sons and two daughters, blessed this 
union. Mr. Dana's law practice soon became 
extensive and his service in behalf of various 
religious, and charitable and civil service 
reform organizations was freely given. He 
became a regular contributor to the "Civil 
Service Record," which he edited in 1889-92, 
and he was an tmcompromising advocate of 
tarifiE and political reform. He was for many 
years secretary of the Massachusetts Civil 
Service Reform League; in 1888 he drafted 
the act which resulted in the adoption of the 
Australian ballot by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, the pioneer in the movement 
in the United States in that direction. He 
planned the scheme of work of the Associated 
Charities of Boston, 1878-79, and was chairman 
of its committee of organization. He served 
as president of the board of trustees of the 
New England Conservatory of Music, 1891-98, 
and during that time raised $165,000 for the 
institution. He has been president of the 
Boston Young Men's Christian Association 
1890-91, and was active in trying to intro- 
duce into Massachusetts the Norwegian system 
of regulating the sale of liquors. He served 
as president of the Cambridge Civil Service 
Reform Association, 1897-1901. He was a 
member of the standing committee of the 
diocese of Massachusetts, and was elected a 
substitute delegate to the general convention 
of the Protestant Episcopal church in America, 
held in Boston in 1904, serving as chairman of 
the general convention committee. He was 



made trustee and treasurer of the Episcopal 
Theological School, of Cambridge, in 1891, and 
has held the office of president of the Alumni 
Association of St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. 
In 1901, Governor Crane, of Massachusetts, 
appointed him one of the three commissioners 
to inquire into the question of constructing 
a dam at the mouth of the Charles River, and 
the favorable report of the commission made 
in 1903, which led to the accomplishment of 
the great project, was written largely by Mr. 
Dana. In 1901 he was appointed by the board 
of overseers of Harvard University on the 
visiting committee in the department of phi- 
losophy, and organized the movement for 
raising fimds for building Emerson Hall, which 
resulted in procuring about $105,000. He was 
a member of the executive committee of the 
Cambridge Good Government League and the 
Massachusetts Election Laws League, was presi- 
dent of the Massachusetts Civil Service Re- 
form Association, and is chairman of the council 
of the United States Civil Service Reform 
League. He is a vice-president of the Massa- 
chusetts Reform Club; a member of the New 
York Reform Club, and was president of the 
Library Hall Association, organized for the 
improvement of the municipal government 
in Cambridge. His social club affiliations 
include the Union and Exchange Clubs, of 
Boston; the Essex County Club; the Oakley 
Country Club, of Watertown, of which he was 
president ; and the Harvard Club, of New York. 
His trusteeships have included the New 
England Conservatory of Music; the Oliver 
Building Trust; the Washington Building 
Trust; the Delta Building Trust; the Brom- 
field Building Trust and the Congress Street 
Building Trust. He is the author of " Double 
Taxation Unjust and Inexpedient" (1892) 
"Double Taxation in Massachusetts" (1895) 
"Substitutes for the Caucus" (Forum, 188G) 
"Workings of the Australian Ballot Act in 
Massachusetts ' ' Annals of American Academy, 
(1892); and Conference of Good Government, 
(1906); Address on the One Hundredth Anni- 
versary of the Town of Dana (1901) ; and other 
papers and addresses on civil service reform, 
taxation, ballot reform, election expenses and 
better houses for working men. . 



BIOGRAPHIES 



190a 



ROBERT DOUGLASS 

Douglass, Robert, the second child and 
older son of Robert and Betsey HacUey Douglass, 
was bom in Cambridge, Mass., June 17, 1806. 
In 1812 his parents left that City, business 
being at a standstill on account of the Embargo. 
His father was a carpenter and an expert me- 
chanic, and set up the machinery in cotton mills 
which were being built at that time. They re- 
turned in 1816 or 1817, after having lived in sev- 
eral towns of Massachusetts. With that excep- 
tion Cambridge was always his home. As a boy 
he worked with a carpenter, but this was too 
hard for him. In 1822 his father died, leaving 
his mother in very poor circimistances with a 




ROBERT DOUGLASS 

family of seven children dejicndent upon her. 
It was necessary that the older son should help 
his mother, and he was apinxniticed to Isaac 
Luin, probably the earliest manufacturing 
confectioner in Cambridge, of whom he learned 
the trade. After leaving the latter's esta?jlish- 
ment, he spent a short time in Roxbury, and in 
June, 1826, before he was of age, commenced 
business for himself on the corner of School and 



Cherry Streets. He bought his sugar in small 
quantities and brought it out of Boston him- 
self, and after it was made into candy carried 
it into Boston to sell. From this small beginning 
by untiring industry, strict economy and fair 
dealing was built up the largest confectionery 
manufactory at that time in New England, 
sending wagons all over these states. Soon he 
moved to near the corner of Windsor and 
School Streets. On account of his increasing 
business and of loss and annoyance caused by 
the high tides, which in those early days had 
unobstructed rise over the marshes, one of 
which in 1830 covered the place to a depth of 
three feet in fifteen minutes, he bought an 
estate on what is now Massachusetts Avenue, 
comer of Douglass Street, where his business 
was carried on. He introduced the manu- 
facture of English and medicated lozenges 
in this vicinity. In 1834 his brother Royal 
became his partner, and in 1843 this firm was 
dissolved. In the following year he entered 
into partnership with Charles Everett, under 
the fimi name of Everett and Douglass, for the 
sale of domestic goods on commission in Boston. 
This continued for three years only, and he 
was never afterwards in any active business. 
In 1836, he bought shares in the Cambridge 
Bank. He was connected with that institution 
and its successor, the Cambridgeport National 
Bank, as director or president for more than 
forty-four years, holding the latter office for 
nineteen )'ears. He was trustee of the Cam- 
1)ridgeport Savings Bank from its incorporation 
in 1853 until his death, and vice-president for 
the last twenty-six years of his life. He served 
as one of the Commissioners of the Sinking 
Fund of the city of Cambridge, was a member 
of the Cambridge Water Board, and was the 
treasurer of the Union Glass Works of Somer- 
ville. He always attended the First Universalist 
Church, having identified himself with that 
society when very young. He was married 
in 1832 to Adeline M. Welch, daughter of 
Joseph W. Welch of Cambridge, who died in 
1857. In 1860 he married Anna E. Dexter, 
daughter of Henry Dexter of Cambridge, and 
they had three daughters. Mr. Douglass died 
Februarv 19, 1885. Mrs. Anna E. Douglass 



190b 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



died October 26, 1913. Mr. Douglass was 
pre-eminently a .self-made man. He had little 
opportunity to obtain an education when a boy ; 
but notwithstandinj^ that fact, he became 
a successful business man, and one whose 
ad\ace was sought by many, and this he was 
always most willing to give. He was kind and 
genial to all with whom he was brought in 
contact. He was a man of the strictest integ- 
rity, of whom it could truly be said that his word 
was as good as his bond. He was very quiet 
and retiring, and refused to hold any public 
office. 



HENRY ENDICOTT 

Endicott, Henry, was born in Canton, 
November 14, 1824; son of Elijah and Cynthia 
(Childs) Endicott. He belongs to the branch 
of the Massachusetts family of Endicotts that 
settled in Canton in 1700. Mr. Endicott was 
educated in the public schools, and began 
business life in the manufacturing of steam 
engines and boilers in Boston, in 1845, under 
the firm name of Allen & Endicott, and has 
had a long and successful career in this branch 
of work. He was president of the Allen & 
Endicott Building Company, director of the 
Cambridge Gas Light Company, director of 
the First National Bank of Cambridge, and 
president of the Cambridgeport Savings Bank. 
Mr. Endicott was connected with the Masonic 
order fifty-seven years, being Master Mason, 
in 1860, in Amicable Lodge, and Worshipful 
Master in 1864, '65, '66; was Master Mason 
of Mizpah Lodge (U.D.) in 1868, and elected 
Worshipful Master in 1869, imder charter, and 
was District Deputy Grand Master, District 
No. 4, in 1867, '68. Was exalted, in 1861, in 
St. Paul's Royal Arch Chapter, Boston; was 
.Scribe in 1862, '63; King, 1864; High Priest, 
1865, '66; also High Priest of Cambridge 
Royal Arch Chapter (U.D.) in 1865, and 
Grand King of the Grand Chapter of Mass- 
achusetts in 1867. He was made Royal and 
Select Master, in Boston Council, in 1861, and 
was made a Knight Templar, in 1861, in Boston 
Commandery, and became a member the same 
year; was elected Captain General in 1868; 



Generalissimo, 1869, '70; and Eminent Com- 
mander in 1891, '92. He received the degrees 
of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 
from the fourth to the thirty-second, in the 
Grand Consistory of Massachusetts. Mr. Endi- 
cott has filled a number of other important 
offices in the order, was a member of the Colonial 
Club, of Cambridge, and the Union Club. He 
married, in 1847, Miss Miriam J. Smith, who 
died in 1849. In 1851 he was again married, 
to Miss Abby H. Browning, of Petersham. 
They had four children, of whom one only 
survives: Emma Endicott Marean. He has 
five grandchildren. Mr. Endicott died Nov- 
ember 8, 1913. 



ROBERT OLIVER FULLER 

Filler, Robert Oliver, son of Oliver and 
Sarah (Richardson) Fuller, was born in Cam- 
bridge, September 12, 1829. 

He was educated in the public schools. He 
began his commercial career in the iron business 
in 1855, under the firm name of Gay, Manson 
& Co., changed in 1857 to Robert 0. Fuller, 
then Fuller & Dana in 1860, and in 1866 to 
Fuller, Dana & Fitz. 

Mr. Fuller was a trustee of Worcester Acad- 
emy, Colby University, and Newton Theologi- 
cal Institution. He was one of the founders of 
the Boston Baptist Social Union, and its presi- 
dent in 1874; president of the Boston Baptist 
Bethel; president of the American Baptist Home 
Mission Society, and a member of the executive 
committee of the American Baptist Missionary 
Union. ' He was a member of the Cambridge 
common council in 1861-'62, but had uniformly 
declined all other city offices. 

He was a member of the House of Represent- 
atives, 1871; in 1872-'73 a member of the state 
Senate, and in 1889 a member of the executive 
council of Governor Ames, from Cambridge. 

Mr. Fuller was married in Cavendish, Vt., 
May 31, 1855, to Sarah P., daughter of Joseph 
and Emma (Baldwin) Parker. Of this union 
were seven children: Mary F., Robert O., Alfred 
C, Grace, Annie, Charles Sumner and Helen 
Fuller. 

Mr. Fuller died on the ninth of March, 1903. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



191 



ARTHUR ELMER DENISON 

Denison, Arthur Elmer, for thirty-six years 
a resident of Cambridge, was bom in Burke, Vt., 
December 5th, 1847. He fitted for Tufts Col- 
lege at Westbrook Seminary, during which 
period he enlisted in the service of the United 
States Amiy, being mustered out with the rank 
of Sergeant, and graduated from Tufts in 1869 
with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was 
also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. 

After his graduation, he returned to Maine, 
and there founded and became the first cashier 
of the Norway National Bank, reading law in 
his spare moments. After he had made the 
decision that he was fitted to adopt the legal 
profession as his life work, he resigned his posi- 
tion in the Bank, went to Portland and entered 
the office of the Hon. William Wirt Virgin, who 
later became one of the Associate Justices of 
the Supreme Court of Maine, and in whose 
office Mr. Denison received a fine legal training. 

He was admitted to the Maine Bar in 1872, 
and directly afterward came to Boston, where 
he was associated with Henry W. Paine, then 
one of the foremost lawyers and citizens of the 
Commonwealth, and for thirty-eight years 
thereafter practised law in Boston, where he 
attained the highest eminence in his chosen 
profession, both as a practicing attorney, and 
as Master and Auditor in numerous important 
and complex cases. 

He was married in 1873 to Ida E., a daughter 
of the late Dr. Ward Eddy Wright of Cambridge. 
Of this union two children were bom, one, a 
daughter, died in infancy; the other, a son, is 
now a practicing attorney in Boston. After 
Mr. Denison's marriage, he moved to North 
Cambridge, and here he spent the remainder 
of his life. Suggestions of public honors were 
frequently made to him, to all of which he gave 
a fimi refusal, but in his own quiet way, and 
by the very force of his remarkable personality, 
he found much good to do in the world as a 
citizen in the ranks. 

He was a member and had been a \-ice-presi- 
dent of the Cambridge Club; a past president 
of the Universalist Club of Boston; a member 
of the Mizpah Lodge of Masons; and honorary 
counsel of the Avon Home. He was a trustee 
of Tufts College, to the duties of which he gave 



largely of his time, strength and ability, which 
the College recognized by giving him the hon- 
orary degree of Master of Arts in 1908. For 
many years he was Chairman of the Standing 
Committee of the First Universalist Church on 
Inman Street; and later, after his removal to 
North Cambridge, he took a prominent part in 




.■\RTHUR ELMER DENISU.\ 

the affairs of the Third Universalist Parish, and 
was Chaimian of the Board of Trustees for 
thirteen consecutive years. 

Mr. Denison died on the 18th of May, 1910, 
after a brief illness, closing a life full of honor, 
and possessed of the respect of all who were 
privileged to know him. 



HENRY DEXTER 

Dexter, Henry, sculptor, was bom at Nel- 
son, Madison County, New York, October 11, 
1806, on a farm in the midst of an unsettled 
wilderness, where his parents had settled shortly 
before. He is notable as having been one of the 
earliest sculptors of the United States, and 
typically American, in that being entirely a 
self-taught genius, his achievements were wholly 
due to his natural talents and his own unguided 



192 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



efforts. As a child he made pictures on cloth, 
paper being an unattainable luxury, with colors 
made from fruit juices. When he was eleven 
years old his father died, and the family re- 
moving to Connecticut, he was put to work with 
a farmer, who sent him to school in winter. He 
sought to obtain emploraient with a family 
named Alexander, whose son, Frank, then little 
more than a boy, was already a recognized 
artist, and it became the dream of young 
Dexter' s life to meet this "Frank" and learn 
his art from him. Years afterwards he became 




HENRY UEXTER 

his friend, and related to him b}' marriage, and 
though at first discouraging him from an artists' 
career, he finally proved of great assistance to 
him. In the meantime, when he left the fann, 
Dexter was, much against his will, apprenticed 
to a blacksmith; and after learning the trade, 
he made it necessary for himself to follow it, 
by marrying a niece of Alexander, and thus 
assuming the responsibilities of the head of a 
family. He made his first attempt at portrait 
painting about this time; but Alexander him- 
self expostulated with him for even dreaming 
of giving up his trade, and he reluctantly con- 
tinued it for seven years. Then, in 1835, he 
went to Boston, resolved that, whether success- 



ful or not, he would at least try to become an 
artist, and, with the assistance of Alexander 
he soon made a certain reputation as a portrait 
painter. In the following spring he went to 
Providence, R.I., where he painted portraits 
of General Carpenter and his family. Return- 
ing in the autumn to Boston, he followed the 
profession of a portrait painter until Mr. Alex- 
ander, chancing to suggest to him to obtain a 
quantity of modeling clay, his attention was 
thus accidentally turned to the art of sculpture, 
and he at once achieved remarkable success in 
making portrait busts. His first commission 
in marble was to make a bust of the mayor of 
Boston, Hon. Samuel A. Eliot, after whom 
many of the most distinguished gentlemen of 
Boston made request for similar works. He 
made busts of Longfellow, Agassiz, Henry 
Wilson, Cornelius C. Felton, president of Har- 
vard CoUege, Anson Burlingame, and of Charles 
Dickens, when that novelist visited Boston, 
as well as of several hundred others; and the 
work, executed entirely by his own hands, was 
frequently of surpassing merit. In statuary 
he executed the figure now in Mount Auburn 
cemetery, Ivnown as the Binney Child, a colossal 
figiu^e of a "Backwoodsman"; figiu-es of the 
children of J. B. Gushing, of Watertown, ex- 
hibited as "The Young Natm-aHst" and "The 
First Lesson;" a statue of the daughter 
of William P. Winchester; a statue of Gen. 
Joseph Warren, now at Bunker Hill, and figures 
entitled "Nymph of the Ocean," and "Devo- 
tion." In 1860 he set about making a group 
of busts of the president of the United States 
and all governors of states then in office, and 
in the execution of this work he traveled over 
every state except California and Oregon. On 
completing the casts, he exhibited them in the 
rotunda of the State House in Boston, and 
though the outbreak of the Civil War prevented 
him from executing all of them in marble, the 
work in its partial completion is still a valuable 
portion of the art collection at Washington. 
Among the best of these busts are those of 
Governors Hicks, Morgan, Morrill, Banks, Ellis 
and Chase. 

In May, 1828, he was married to Miss KeUey, 
the niece of the artist Francis Alexander. They 
had three children: a son who died in infancy 
and two daughters; one of the latter, Mrs. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



193 



Harriet D. Mason, is dead; the other, Mrs. 
Anna E. Douglas, is H-ving. His first wife died 
in 1857. Just before beginning a tour through 
the United States, he married Mrs. Martha 
Billings, of Millbury, Mass. 

Mr. Dexter resided in Cambridge, Mass., for 
many years, having a studio on Broadway. 
He died there, January 23, 1876. 



which seemed to be for the public welfare, and 
to all the duties of the various offices which he 
was called upon to fill he gave freely of his time 
and talents. 



WILLIAM BULLARD DURANT 

DuRANT, William Bullard, died at his 
home, Lowell Street, Cambridge, on Wednesday, 
October 4, 1911. 

Mr. Durant was bom in Barre, Mass., in 
1844, the son of Rev. Amos Bullard and Mary 
Ami Durant. He was known as William Bullard 
until after he had finished his education, when 
he took as his surname the maiden name of his 
mother. He received his elementary education 
at the Leicester Academy and graduated from 
Har\-ard in the Class of 1865. He received 
an A.M. in 1868, and his degree from the Har- 
vard Law School in 1869. He married, in 1879, 
Caroline V. Aldrich, the daughter of Judge P. 
E. Aldrich, of Worcester; and she and three 
sons — Aldrich, an engineer at Havana, Cuba; 
Henry W., a lawyer in Boston; and William 
B. Durant, an engineer at Greenfield, Mass., — 
sun.-ive him. 

Mr. Durant lived in Cambridge for fifty 
years, and always took an active interest in 
city affairs. He was sent to the Common Coim- 
cil in 1880 and 1881, and his ability was at once 
recognized by his fellow citizens. He was a 
member of the House of Representatives in 
1894 and 1895. He served as president of the 
Water Board from 1899 to 1906, and here his 
legal training was most valuable, and he was 
able to render great service in settling many 
important questions. At the time of his death 
he was a director of the Charles River National 
Bank and a trustee of the Cambridge Savings 
Bank. He was an attendant at the First Con- 
gregational Church, a member of the Oakley 
Country Club and the Cambridge Club. 

Mr. Durant was the typical "good citizen," 
and was always found ready to perfonn his duty 
in serving the City. He could be depended 
upon to lend his support to any movement 



CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT 
Eliot, Charles William, president emeritus 
of Harvard University, was bom in Boston, 
on March 20, 1831, t^c grandson of one of the 
famous merchant princes of the New England 
capital, and the son of Samuel Atkins and Mary 
(LA'man) Eliot. His father was one of the 
most eminent public men of the Commonwealth, 
having been mayor of Boston, a member of 




CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT 

Congress, and the treasurer of Harvard College. 
The family was descended from Andrew Eliot, 
who came from Devonshire, England, about 
1632, and settled in Beverly, Mass., very soon 
after the first Puritan migration. 

To have sprung from such a sterling race is 
more honor than kinship with any titled aris- 
tocracy. Through every generation the men 
of the Eliot name have justified their heritage. 
No youth could have had a more fortunate 
or inspiring environment than that of the 
Boston home whence young Eliot went to the 
Boston Latin School and to Harvard College. 
His was the class of 1853. Graduating with 
the degree of Bachelor of Arts and an enviable 



194 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



reputation for scholarship, second in rank in his 
class, Mr. Eliot remained at the college as a 
tutor in mathematics, studying chemistry 
meanwhile with Professor Josiah P. Cooke, and 
in ISoG receiving the degree of Master of Arts. 
For two years more he continued to be an in- 
structor in mathematics, applying himself 
at the same time to research in chemistry, but 
in 1858 he became assistant professor in mathe- 
matics and chemistry in the Lawrence Scien- 
tific School at Harvard. 

In 1861 Mr. Eliot relinquished one part of 
his double professional duty to become assist- 
ant professor of chemistry alone, holding this 
post for two years. From 1863 to 1865 he 
studied chemistry and investigated educational 
methods in Europe. Returning to America, 
he became professor of anal>i;ical chemistry 
in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
then a j'oung institution brought into being 
by the progress of New England and the need 
of a more thorough scientific knowledge in the 
industrial arts. 

For four years, from 1865 to 1869, Mr. Eliot 
continued in the Faculty of the Institute of 
Technology, passing parts of the years 1867- 
1868 in France. 

Through the stormy years of the Civil War 
the urgent problem of American higher educa- 
tion had been thrust aside, but it came to the 
forefront as soon as the war had ended. There 
was much of dissatisfaction and unrest at 
Harvard. New methods and new men were 
demanded. The election of a new president 
of Harvard was impending when Professor 
Eliot printed in the Atlantic Monthly, two 
vigorous and stirring articles on "The New 
Education," which stamped him at once as an 
iconoclast in the judgment of conservative 
Massachusetts. But there were powerful men 
of progress to whom these new ideas appealed, 
and Professor Eliot, in 1869, was elected by 
the Harvard corporation as President. The 
overseers at first refused to concur, but finally 
yielded, and Dr. Eliot began his great work of 
educational reformation. 

President Eliot, once seated, began straight- 
way to broaden the curriculum of the Uni- 
versity and to give the individual student some 
freedom of choice in the courses which he should 
pursue. This was a perilous attack on im- 



memorial custom. Latin, Greek, mathematics, 
a smattering of modem languages and a smat- 
tering of some of the sciences had been the 
prescribed higher education of New England 
ever since the beginnings of education there. 
Regardless of individual characteristics and 
regardless of the careers which they were to 
pursue, the yotmg men of one academic gen- 
eration after another were passed through the 
same mold and rigidly required to learn the 
same things, or try to learn them, whether the 
topics interested them or not. 

President Eliot changed all this, but the 
process required years of patient endeavor. 
The "elective system," as it came to be called, 
did not win a complete triumph at Harvard 
until about 1884. Yet there was progress 
from the first; the broadening which the new 
president began was never halted. The gradu- 
ate school was developed and "That truth 
should be the final aim of education and that 
without liberty the attainment of truth is 
thwarted," became the g\iiding principle at 
Harvard. At the same time, President Eliot 
gave his splendid energies to the allied task 
of making Harvard a genuine tmiversity. 
There were law and medical schools, a divinity 
school, a scientific school and a school of den- 
tistry, but the organization was loose and 
sprawling, and Harvard in 1869 was still a 
university only in name. The new president 
sought to bring these scattered departments 
genuinely together after a new plan which 
was not European, but American. "A uni- 
versity in any worthy sense of the term," he 
said, "must grow from seed. It cannot be 
transplanted in full leaf and bearing. It 
cannot be run up, like a cotton mill, in six 
months, to meet a quick demand. Neither 
can it be created by an energetic use of the 
inspired editorial, the advertising circular and 
the frequent telegram. Numbers do not con- 
stitute it, and no money can make it before 
its time." 

One of the first points upon which President 
Eliot insisted was that the departments of 
the university should have a common treasury 
and a uniform and efticient system of govern- 
ment. He carried his point, and went on to 
modernize the methods of instruction in the 
various schools. He gave his personal atten- 



BIOGRAPHIES 



195 



tion and presence to the various branches of 
the university. "Well, I declare," said Gov- 
ernor Washburn, when the new president first 
appeared officially in the law school, "the presi- 
dent of Harvard College in Dane Hall! This is 
a new sight." 

The leadership of President Eliot in American 
education has been frankly and graciously 
recognized abroad as well as at home. He is 
an, officer of the Legion of Honor, of France, 
and corresponding member of the Institute 
of France. In this country he is a Fellow of 
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
and a member of the American Philosophical 
Society and of many other organizations for 
intellectual and social advancement. 



JOHN R. FAIRBAIRN 
Fairbairn, John R., Sherifl' of Middlesex 
County, was bom in Boston, January 26, 1851, 
of Scotch ancestn,'. His father, John Fairbaim, 



1874 he established himself in East Cambridge 
as an auctioneer and dealer in real estate, in 
which he was successful. He was appointed 
Deputy Sheriff in 1884. In 1889 he was a 
member of the Common Council of the city of 
Cambridge; and in 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1895 
and 1896, one of the Board of Aldermen, serving 
as President in 1893, 1895 and 1896. In June, 
1896, he succeeded the late John M. Fiske as 
keeper of the jail and master of the house of 
correction in Cambridge, and as Special Sheriff 
under Henry G. Gushing. June 22, 1899, after 
the death of Sheriff Gushing, he was appointed 
Sheriff by Governor Walcott to fill the vacancy, 
and subsequently elected by the people term 
after tenn, and is now serving his second year 
of a five-year term. He is connected with the 
Masonic fraternity in Cambridge, being a 
member of the lodge, chapter, council and com- 
mandery, and several other fraternal organiza- 
tions. 




JOH.X R. FAIRBAIRX 

was born near Glasgow, and served eleven years 
in the Forty-Second Regiment Scottish High- 
landers before emigrating to America. Shortly 
after the birth of the son, the family moved to 
Cambridge, where the subject of this sketch was 
educated in the public schools. At an early 
age he was apprenticed to the upholstery- trade, 
at which he worked several years as a journey- 
man after completing his term of service. In 



JOHN FISKE 

FiSKE, JoH.\, philosopher, historian and 
man of letters, was bora in Hartford, Conn., 
March 30, 1842; son of Edmund Brewster and 
Mary Fiske (Bound) Green; grandson of 
Humphreys and Hannah (Heaton) Green of 
Delaware, and of John and Marj^ (Fiske) 
Bound of Middletown, Conn., and a descendant 
from Phineas Fiske of Fressingfield, Suffolk, 
England, who came to America in 16-il, and 
settled in Wenham, Mass. His name was 
originally Edmtmd Fiske Green, and in 1855, 
on the marriage of his widowed mother to 
Edwin W. Stoughton, he took the name of his 
maternal great-grandfather, John Fiske, there 
being no other male descendant of the family 
to carry down the name. 

He passed his early boyhood with his mater- 
nal grandparents who lived in Middletown, 
Conn., and displayed great precocity as well as 
diligence in preparing for college. He entered 
Harvard as a sophomore in 1S60, although he 
had already advanced in ever}- department 
farther than the college course could take him. 
Here he became an enthusiastic investigator 
on his own account in history, philosophy 
and comparative philolog\-, averaging fifteen 
hours of w-ork daily. 



196 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



He had studied Euclid, algebra, trigonome- 
try, surveying and navigation at twelve; could 
read Plato and Herodotus, and had begun Ger- 
man at fifteen; could read Spanish, French, 
Italian and Portuguese at seventeen, studying 
Sanscrit and reading the Bible in Hebrew at 
eighteen, meanwhile continuing an incessant 
course of reading. 

He was graduated at Harvard in arts in 1863, 
and in law in 1865, having been admitted to 
the Suffolk bar in 1864. He was married at 
Applcton Chapel, Cambridge, September 6th, 




lOHX FISKE 

1864, to Abby Morgan, daughter of Aaron 
Brooks, Jr., of Petersham, Mass. 

He never practised law, devoting himself 
to literature, gaining position as an author, 
from the publication of his first article in the 
National Quarterly Review, in 1861, a review 
of Buckle's "History of Civilization," which 
won for him the consideration of editors of 
both American and English periodicals, and 
he became a frequent contributor to the leading 
magazines and reviews. 

He was university lecturer at Harvard, 
1869-71, his subjects being "Positive Philos- 
ophy," and the "Doctrine of Evolution." He 
was instructor in history there, 1870; assistant 



librarian, 1872-79; overseer, 1879-91; and 
member of the Board at the time of his death. 

He was non-resident lecturer on American 
history in the University College, London, 
England, 1S79, at the Royal Institution of 
Great Britain, 1880, and in Washington Uni- 
versity, St. Louis, Mo., 1881-1885; and from 
1885, non-resident professor of American 
history in that institution. 

After 1880, he gave his entire time to writing 
and lecturing. On April 4th, 1881, he gave 
by request a lecture on the Old South Meeting 
House on the site of the pulpit where Samuel 
Adams and Warren once roused the people 
to resist the encroachments of George III. 
He wound up with a grand and eloquent appeal 
to save the building, and convert it into a place 
for teaching American history. The audience 
was large and most enthusiastic, and a fresh 
impulse was started towards saving the 
building. 

"The Old South meeting-house, and John 
Fiske inside it, is a combination that can make 
an honest patriot of anyone," was the remark 
of a certain Boston statesman. These words 
but reflect the public estimation of this big, 
hearty, clear-minded teacher of the people. 

He delivered in 1890, 1895, and 1898 three 
series of twelve lectures each on " The Discovery 
and Colonization of America' ' ; " Old Virginia " ; 
and "The Dutch and Quaker Colonies," before 
the Lowell Institute, Boston. 

He was elected a fellow of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences; a member of 
the Historical societies of Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
Missouri, California, Oneida County, N.Y. ; 
the Military Historical Society of Massachu- 
setts; the Essex Institute; the American 
Antiquarian Society ; the American Geographi- 
cal Society; and the American Folklore Society; 
was given the degree of LL.D. b}' Harvard in 
1894, and that of Litt.D. by the University of 
Pennsylvania the same year. 

He composed a mass in B minor, and several 
hymns and songs, and was president of the 
Boylston Club of Singers, Boston, from 1876 
to 1881. He was joint editor with James 
Grant Wilson of Appleton's " Cyclopaedia of 
American Biography" (G vols.) 1887-1889. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



197 



His published works include: Tobacco and 
Alcohol (1SG8) ; History of English literature, 
abridged from Taine and edited for schools 
(1872); Myths and Myth-makers (1872); 
Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy based on the 
Doctrine of Evolution (2 vols. 1874) appeared 
simultaneously in London and in Boston; 
two years later, The Unseen World (1876) ; 
Darwinism and Other Essays (1879) ; new edi- 
tion (1885); Excursions of an Evolutionist 
(1883); The Destiny of Man viewed in the 
Light of his Origin (1884) ; The Idea of God 
as Affected by Modem Knowledge (1885) ; 
American Political Ideas viewed from the 
Standpoint of Universal History (1885) ; 
Washington and His Country (1887) ; The 
Critical Period of American History, 1783- 
1789 (1888, illustrated edition, 1897); The 
Beginnings of New England or the Puritan 
Theocracy in its relation to Civil and Religious 
Liberty (1889, illustrated edition, 1898). 

" In the Beginnings of New England John 
Fiske has given us another of those practical 
philosophic studies, which have placed him 
among the very foremost of living historical 
writers. Indeed, for insight, for appreciation 
of the continuity of human thought and de- 
velopment, for the true perspective, and for 
literary skill, and lucidity^ there is no English 
writer of the day who can be named with him 
except Prof. Bryce, and while his style is not 
less solid than that of the author of "The Holy 
Roman Empire," it is more picturesque. 

"In his introductory chapter. Dr. Fiske, 
opening the way for New England, treats of 
the Roman idea and the English idea in the 
development of government. It is a masterly 
chapter. We wish every congressman was 
compelled to read it before he takes his seat, 
and obliged to pass an examination upon it. 
We might hope then for some little comprehen- 
sion of the philosophy of real statesmanship." 

The War of Independence, for Young People 
(1889) ; Civil Government of the United States, 
considered with some references to its Origins 
(1890); The American Revolution (2 vols. 
1891, illustrated edition, 1S9G); The Discovery 
of America, with some account of Ancient 
America and the Spanish Conquest (2 vols. 
1892); Frantz Schubert (in Millets Famous 
Composers, 1892) ; Edward Livingston You- 



mans. Interpreter of Science for the People 
(1894) ; Old Virginia and her Neighbors (2 vols. 
1897); The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in 
America (2 vols. 1899); Through Nature to 
God (1899) ; and Japanese translations of The 
Destiny of Man and The Idea of God; Life 
Everlasting (1901); New France and New 
England (1902) ; Essays, Historical and Lit- 
erary (2 vols.) ; History of All Nations (3 vols. 
Lea Brothers, publishers, Philadelphia) ; Colo- 
nization of the New World; Independence of 
the New World; Modem Development of the 
New World. 

He was equally at home in treating of lan- 
guage, art, natural science, music, religion, 
modem literature, the classics, history or phi- 
losophy; but it was in the two last-named 
fields that he chose to do the bulk of his most 
serious work. In philosophy he ably supple- 
mented the system of Herbert Spencer by 
opening up, while he expounded it, new vistas 
into a reverent theism. 

It is not too much to say that he shows an 
insight and comprehension greater than Spen- 
cer's own, while his form of statement is often 
more felicitous. 

Of the extremely important original contri- 
bution of John Fiske to the general theory of 
evolution, his own statement is to be found 
in his "Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy" (tenth 
edition, New York, 1SS9), ii, 159, 342, and in 
his "Excursions of an Evolutionist" (ninth 
edition, Boston, 1889) in a paper entitled 
"The Meaning of Infancy." 

In his treatment of history he displays the 
same grasp, insight, and analytic power, and 
the same ingenuity in extending the applica- 
tion of the evolutionary principle. 

"The government of the United States," 
he says, in the preface to "American Political 
Ideas," "is not the result of special creation, 
but of evolution." This sentence strikes the 
key-note of his historical method. In writing 
history, he was still the philosopher, seeking 
before everything else the why of the great 
movements and events. 

His style was invariably rich, flexible, and 
clear, — "such a style," said the Atlantic 
Monthly, " as was perhaps never before brought 
to the illustration of the topics with which 
Mr. Fiske habitually deals." 



198 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



In a letter of Charles Darwin to Dr. Fiske, 
bearing date December 8th, 1874, he says; 
" I never in my life read so lucid an expositor 
(and therefore thinker) as you are." Added 
to his profound scholarship, this gift of expres- 
sion was invaluable to the great leader of 
philosophic and historic thought in America. 

Just before his death Dr. Fiske had taken 
passage for England, having accepted an invi- 
tation to represent this country at the com- 
memoration of the millennial of the death of 
King Alfred the Great, to be held at Winchester, 
England, and to give an address at the tmveil- 
ing of the statue. 

James W. Bright, secretary, in acknowledg- 
ing Dr. Fiske's acceptance, said: "I am ex- 
ceedingly gratified to receive your acceptance 
of the invitation to deliver an address at the 
Alfred celebration, and I can assure you that 
this announcement will be received with 
peculiar pleasure by the English committee. 

"The initial construction of the programme is 
chiefly in my hands. I have accordingly first 
addressed you, as the pre-eminently qualified 
man to represent America in a broad historical 
view of the real meaning of the celebration. 
You may, of course, select your own theme; 
whatever you do select will be treated in that 
deeply interpretative manner for which you 
are so justly admired." 

Intensely interested in the subject, and 
appreciating the honor conferred upon him 
by a committee of distinguished Englishmen, 
happy also at the honor bestowed through him 
on America, and his Alma Mater, Harvard, 
in connection with a celebration of such mag- 
nitude, he was looking forward to the event 
with great enthusiasm, feeling, as he said, that 
he had "something to say." 

He died suddenly in Gloucester, Mass., on 
the morning of July 4th, 1901. 

Of his six children, Maud, Harold Brooks, 
Clarence, Ralph Browning, Ethel and Herbert 
Huxley, four only survive him. 



MICHAEL E. FITZGERALD 
FiTZGER.\LD, Michael E., superintendent of 
Cambridge schools, was bom in East Abington, 
Mass., November 22, 1863, son of John C. and 
Mar\' D. His early education was received at 
the public schools of his native town, and he 



was graduated from the Bridgewater Normal 
School in 1887. The twenty-five ensuing years 
have been devoted to school work. Before 
coming to Boston, in 1901, as sub-master in the 
Lawrence district, he spent four years as prin- 
cipal of the largest school in Spencer, Mass., 
and had charge of the evening school during 
that time; ten years as principal of the Lincoln 
Grammar School in South Framingham; and a 
short time as principal of the Wetherbee School 
in Lawrence ; and while in Framingham, having 
studied law in the ofifice of Judge Walter 




MICH.\EL E. FITZGER.\LD 

Adams, was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar 
in 1898. His work in Boston has included 
the dirsctorship of the vacation schools. He 
received the appointment as master of the 
Christopher Gibson district in Dorchester, in 
1903. On the opening of the new Oliver Wendell 
Holmes district in 1905, he was transferred to 
that district. In 1939-1910 the FrankHn Park 
Open Air School was under his charge. He is 
president of the Schoolmen's Club whose mem- 
bership of four hundred and fifty includes all 
the men teachers of the Boston school system. 

In 1892 Mr. Fitzgerald was married to Miss 
Mary E. Brassill of South Weymouth. He has 
a familv of seven sons. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



199 



RUEL HASSELTINE FLETCHER 

Fletcher, Ruel Hasseltine, sixty years 
a teacher (1S49-1910), one of a family of 
twelve children, six sons and six daughters, 
was bom in Cornish, N.H., May 16, 1829, and 
was brought up on a farm until his majority. 

He was educated in the schools of his native 
town, in the Newport, N.H., High School, at 
Kimball Union Academy, and at the New 
Hampton Institute. Years later he took 
courses in geometry, physics and physical 
geography at Harvard University. 




RUEL HASSELTIXE FLETCHER 

At the age of twenty he taught his first 
school in Newport, N.H. Subsequently he 
taught winter schools in his native town, in 
Hartford, Vt., Canaan, N.H., and West New- 
bur)', Mass. He began teaching in annual 
schools at Abington Centre, Mass., in March, 
1854, where he remained two years, resigning 
to accept the mastership of the Coddington 
School in Otiincy, Mass. 

In December, 1857, he was called to the 
mastership of the Olis Grammar School in 
this city. In January, lS(il, for lack of accom- 



modations, the school was moved into the 
building that it now occupies, on the corner 
of Thomdike and Sixth Streets. After fifty- 
two years of service as master of the Thomdike 
School, Mr. Fletcher retired, January 1, 1910, 
and was unanimously elected Master Emeritus 
by the school officials. 

In February, 1803, Mr. Fletcher married 
Rebecca Caroline Wyman, daughter of the 
late William and Ruth Bradstreet Wyman, of 
Cambridge. Eight children were bom to them 
two of whom died in infancy, and one, Fred- 
erick William, died June 22, 1909, at the age 
of thirty-one years. Mrs. Fletcher, his bosom 
companion for forty-three years, died July 10, 
190G, in her seventieth year. Of the five 
children still living, all are graduates of the 
Thomdike School. Two of them, Charles 
Ruel and Austin Bradstreet, are graduates of 
Harvard; Caroline Rebecca, of Wellesley 
College; Edward Wyman, of the Cambridge 
High School; and Frank Kelley was two years 
in the Cambridge Manual Training School. 
All are well employed. 

C)n the day of the graduation exercises of the 
Thomdike Grammar School, June 20, 1907, the 
committee met and by a unanimous rising vote 
passed resolutions formally expressing the es- 
teem of the members, and their appreciation 
of the patient, industrious and successful efforts 
of Mr. Fletcher in his career of fifty years as 
head principal of the school. An account of 
the meeting and copies of the resolutions, signed 
by the secretary, were sent to him. The other 
occasion was the day when Mr. Fletcher's 
resignation and that of Mr. Bradbury of the 
Latin School were accepted by the committee. 
At the meeting on that day, December 31, 
1909, a resolution was adopted, which, after 
commenting on the work and the great influ- 
ence for good exercised by the two educators, 
concluded as follows: "The School Committee, 
desiring to note these remarkable careers and 
in some especial manner to approve and honor 
such lives and service, has created the office of 
'Master Emeritus' and appointed William 
Bradbury and Ruel H. Fletcher as the first 
incumbents thereof. (Signed) Sanford B. 
Hubbard, Secretary of the School Committee." 



200 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



JAMES AUGUSTUS FOX 

Fox, James Augustus, son of George Howe 
and Emily (Wyatt) Fox, was bom in Boston, 
August 11, 1827. He traced his ancestry- to 
prominent English and Scotch families; on 
the paternal side of one in Lincolnshire, Eng- 
land, which included the author of the celebrated 
"Book of Martyrs"; and on the maternal to 
the Scotch family of Forbes, represented in the 
State by Hon. John M. Forbes and Hon. Lincoln 
F. Brigham, Chief of the Superior Court of 
Massachusetts. 

His academical education was attained in 
the public schools of Boston, after which his 
studies were in the line of his chosen profession, 
and were pursued in the law school of Har\-ard 
University and the office of the late Hon. John 
C. Park. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar 
in 1854. 

In 1848 he married Julia EHzabeth, daughter 
of Col. James and Julia (Sterr>') Valentine, of 
Providence, R.I., and the granddaughter of 
William and EHzabeth (Borden) Valentine, of 
Fall River. Her grandfather was one of the 
original projectors of the extensive manufactiu-- 
ing enterprises of that city. She died in 1872, 
leaving three daughters, Henrietta, Julia and 
Lillian. 

He continued in practice until the outbreak 
of the war of the Rebellion in 1861, which found 
him as captain of the Boston City Guard in 
the militia of the State, and his company became 
the nucleus of the Thirteenth Regiment of 
Massachusetts Volunteers. He left with his 
command for the front, July 29, 1861. Captain 
Fox served in the perilous campaigns in Vir- 
ginia during the remainder of that year and in 
1862, receiving the warm commendation of his 
superior officers and the respect and love of 
the men of his command. 

He was early a member of the Military Order 
of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and 
an active comrade of the G.A.R., and in his 
Memorial Day addresses on several occasions, 
his oratorical abilities were conspicuously mani- 
fest, especially in one oration, entitled "The 
Two Ci\'ilizations," which has been published, 



and another given upon the ever memorable 
field of Gettysburg. 

In 1864 and 1865 he was the commander of 
the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company 
of Massachusetts, and was one of the delegation 
of that historic organization at the three hun- 
dred and fiftieth anniversary of the parent 
corps, the Honorable Artillery Company of 
London, held in London during the jubilee 
period of Queen Victoria, in 1887. 

In civil life Mr. Fox had a somewhat extended 
experience, having been a member of the School 
Committee of Boston for three years, and a 
member of the Legislature in both its branches 
— in the House of Representatives in 1867 and 
1868, and in the Senate in 1870 and 1871. While 
in the last-named branch he delivered a merited 
and eloquent eulogy upon the life and military 
service of Major-General George H. Thomas, 
then recently deceased. 

After his removal to the university city of 
Cambridge, in 1872, he served for two years in 
the Aldermanic Board, and subsequently as 
Mayor for four consecutive terms. 

He was identified as an active officer or mem- 
ber with several of the prominent beneficiary 
orders of the country, such as the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, Improved Order of Red 
Men, and the Knights of Pythias; in the latter 
named body he had been Grand Chancellor of 
Massachusetts, Supreme Representative to the 
national branch, and Judge-Advocate-General 
of the uniform rank, upon the staff of Com- 
mander-in-Chief Major-General Camaham, of 
Indiana. In the world-wide institution of Free 
Masonry, he attained the very highest grade. 
Commencing with the "blue lodge" he advanced 
through all the series of degrees of York and 
Scottish rites, the chapter, cryptic masonry, 
the commandery (K.T.), the consistory, unto 
the sovereign grand inspector-generalship of 
the thirty-third and last degree, and in most of 
these he served as the president officer. 

As a legislator, inunicipal chief-magistrate, 
soldier, orator, or officer of fraternal benefici- 
ary societies, he always discharged his varied 
duties with ability and faithfulness. 

Mr. Fox died in September, 1901. 




t 




BIOGRAPHIES 



201 



FR.\NK FOXCROFT 
FoxcROFT, Fran'k, was bom in Boston, 
Mass., January 21, 1850. He was the son 
of George Augustus and Harriet Goodrich 
Foxcroft, and was educated in the public 
schools of Boston and of Pittsfield, Mass., and 
at Williams College, from which institution 
he graduated in 1S71. His father was a news- 
paper writer, so that Mr. Foxcroft turned 
naturally to journalism, when he had completed 
his college course. Naturally, also, when he 
came to Boston, in the fall of 1S71, to take an 
editorial position upon the Boston Journal, he 
established his home in Cambridge, — for he 
is a direct descendant of the Judges Francis 
Foxcroft, father and son, who, in the eighteenth 
century, owned and occupied the Foxcroft 
estate, comprising two htmdred acres or more 
in old Cambridge, including " Norton's Woods," 
and whose name is perpetuated in the Foxcroft 
Club and the Foxcroft House. Mr. Foxcroft 
retained his editorial connection with the 
Boston Journal from 1871 to 1904, as literary 
editor, editorial writer, and associate editor. 
From 1895 to 1911 he edited a department in 
The Youth's Companion; since 189G he has 
edited The Living Age (Littell's) ; and since 1905 
he has also been treasurer of The Living Age 
Company. He published a volume of verse 
entitled "Transcript Pieces," in his youth; 
and he edited a collection of hymns and songs 
of the resurrection, entitled " Resurgit," in 
1878. He has also contributed to various 
magazines and reviews, including the Atlantic 
Monthly, and the Nineteenth Century and the 
Contemporary Review, of London. Mr. Fox- 
croft was married in 1872, to Elizabeth True 
Howard, formerly of Columbus, 0., who died 
suddenly in October, 1885. In 1888, Mr. Fox- 
croft was married to Lily Sherman Rice, of 
Danvers. Three children of the first marriage 
and two of the second are living. Mr. Foxcroft 
was a deacon in the North Avenue Congre- 
gational Church from 1872 to 1895; he taught 
a Bible class in the Simdaj' school of that 
church for more than twenty years; and for 
five years after the death of his first wife, in 
1885, he conducted the Monday class, a week- 
day class of boys and girls for religious instruc- 
tion, comprising nearly four hundred members 
of all denominations, which Mrs. Foxcroft 



had established in 1880. Mr. Foxcroft early 
identified himself with temperance activities 
and no-license work. He was vice-president 
of the Home Protection League, the organiza- 
tion formed in 1881 to carry on the no-license 
campaigns, which soon gave place to the Citi- 
zens' No-license committee; he was chairman 
of the executive committee of the Law and 
Order League, an organization which made 
itself dreaded by violators of the liquor laws 
from 1881 to 188(5; he was for twenty years a 
member and for fifteen years chairman of the 




FRAXK FOXCROFT 

Citizens' No-license committee. He was active 
in the organization of the Law Enforcement 
Association, which, in the early j-ears of no- 
license, lent valuable aid to the authorities in 
the enforcement of no-license; and it was he 
who christened, and up to the time of his resig- 
nation from the committee, edited the no- 
license organ "The Frozen Truth." On his 
retirement from the committee, he was given 
a banquet in recognition of his services. Mr. 
Foxcroft has always been interested in public 
affairs. He served two years upon the Cam- 
bridge school committee in the seventies; and 
he was appointed a member of the Massachu- 



202 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



setts Civil Service Commission by Governor 
Bates in 1904, was reappointed by Governor 
Guild in 1907, and again reappointed by 
Governor Draper in 1910. Mr. Foxcroft is a 
member of the Cambridge, Twentieth Century, 
Boston City, Congregational and Pudding- 
stone Clubs. 



HENRY HAMMOND GALLISON 
Gallison, Henry Hammond, the first Ameri- 
can artist to have a painting placed in the 
National Museum of Italv, was born in Boston, 




HENRY HAMMOND GALLISON 

Mass., May 20, 1850. He was the son of 
Joseph Henry and Lavinia (Hammond) Gallison. 
He received his early education in Boston at 
the public schools and at the private school of 
Mr. Fetto, who fitted him to enter Harvard. 
He graduated from the Harvard Medical School 
in 1871. In settling his grandfather Hammond's 
estate, he found it necessary to have a knowledge 
of law, and entered the Harvard Law School. 
After having been admitted to the bar in the 
County of Suffolk, and after having settled his 
grandfather's estate, he did not practise law 
except for a short time, when he was appointed 
judge in the town of Franklin. He never prac- 



tised law or medicine, except to help his friends. 
It was the profession of art to which he was 
most strongly drawn, and finally' he gave himself 
up exclusively to painting. His first studies 
were in the evening schools of Boston; then 
he watched other painters and profited by their 
criticisms of his work. When Tomaso Inglaris 
came to Boston and had charge of the drawing 
and painting classes that were features of the 
Boston Art Club, Mr. Gallison had his criti- 
cisms. In 1883 he went to England, Italy and 
Paris, where he studied with Adrian Bonne- 
foy. In Paris he met Marie Renter of Lubeck, 
Germany, to whom he was married at Paris in 
1886. She was the daughter of Dr. Franz 
Renter, and studied singing in Paris under 
Madame Pauline Viandot-Garcia. 

After Mr. Gallison returned to America he 
exhibited in London, Munich and Paris and 
in Turin. In Italy the newspapers spoke enthu- 
siastically about the simpHcity of his subjects, 
his broad masses and his glorious colors. The 
first time he exhibited in Italy his picture created 
a sensation, and the King of Italy wished to 
meet his teacher. Cavalier Tomaso Inglaris. 
In London and Paris his pictiires received dis- 
tinction by honorable mention. In St. Louis 
he received a medal. 

The Italian government in 1903 purchased 
one of his pictures, entitled "Rising Mists," for 
the National Museum. This was an unusual 
distinction, as it was the first picture by an 
American artist which the Italian government 
had purchased. 

The greatest monimient to the genius of Mr. 
Gallison in this country is the Ray Memorial 
at Franklin, Mass. It is a civic building, in- 
cluding a library, lecture hall, reading-room and 
other conveniences. The decorations which 
Mr. Gallison painted for the memorial were of 
a landscape character, ideal and poetic. He was 
given charge to plan and execute the building, 
and everything was carried out under his direc- 
tions. He put a great deal of time, thought, 
energy and love into his work, and the Ray 
family seconded him in the work by providing 
the funds. It cost about one million dollars, 
and is a memorial such as few towns in the 
country possess, and it is a monument not only 
to the Ray family, but also to the genius of Mr. 
Gallison. 




Edwix Ginn 



BIOGRAPHIES 



203 



Mr. Gallison's pictures have been exhibited 
in all the prominent art exhibitions of the 
country. His work has a nice distinction of 
freshness in color and a very suggestive poetic 
quality. He had a rare sympathy for the larger 
aspects of nature — for broad stretches of land- 
scape in storm or sunshine, in the mists of early 
morning, or the purple mystery of simset and 
twilight. He was delicately sensitive to atmos- 
pheric qualities in nature — to great cloud 
shadows that drifted over the face of the land- 
scape; to the bursts of sunlight that gilded 
mountain, foliage and fields; to the gray subtle- 
ties of the mist and the palpitating warmth of 
midsummer sunshine on water and land. Na- 
ture spoke to him in terms of color, and there 
were few artists who could as adequately express 
the rich greens of spring and summer as Mr. 
Gallison. He seemed to revel in greens — greens 
that were fresh and juicy and full of life. But 
he also used purples and blues with these greens, 
and he was especially successful in expressing 
topography in his blue and purple distances. 
He saw pictures in light and color and atmos- 
phere; and some of those he painted down at 
Annisquam, and in the White Mountains in 
New Hampshire, seem as if they were painted 
by an inspired brush. 

He had a studio at Annisquam, where in 
the last years of his life he painted from late 
spring until early fall, when he retiuned to his 
studio in the Grundmann Studio on Clarendon 
Street over Copley Hall, in Boston. He was 
one of the most active members of the Boston 
Art Club and also of the St. Botolph Club. 
Many of the prominent galleries of the country 
have purchased his pictures. 

He died October 12, 1910, at his home on 
Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass., being sur- 
vived bv his wife. 



EDWIN GINN 

GiNX, Edwix, was bom in (Jrland, Me., 
February 14, l.s:',S. His father, James Ginn, 
farmer and lumberman, was a man of remark- 
ably good judgment; he often acted as arbi- 
trator and referee in cases of dispute, and had 
great influence in the community in which he 
lived. His ancestors came from England, 
and were among the early settlers of Maryland 



and Virginia. His mother, Sarah Blood, 
daughter of Daniel and Esther (Rideout) Blood, 
was descended from Puritan stock, and through 
John Putnam, brother of Israel Putnam, 
claimed descent from John and Priscilla (Gould) 
Putnam, emigrants from England about 1(330- 
34, settling in Salem. 

Edwin, although a rather delicate boy, was 
bent on obtaining an education. As a child 
his advantages in this direction were very 
limited, as his home in the country- was far 
removed from good school privileges. His 
ambition to obtain an education he inherited 
largely from his mother, his keen business 
insight from his father. His early childhood 
was passed on the farm — where the customary 
chores were a part of his daily duties — in a 
logging camp, and on a fishing schooner to 
the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. In the 
winter he attended the district school. 

At the age of sixteen his father gave him his 
time and fifty dollars with which to gain an 
education. He then began to attend the 
country high school, but as the teacher could 
not instruct him in Latin he entered the Semi- 
nary at Bucksport, two miles and a half from 
his home, walking to and from school each 
day. Later he went to Westbrook Seminary, 
where he finished his preparation for college. 
He graduated from Tufts in 1862, and later 
received the degree A.M. In 1902 his Alma 
Mater conferred upon him the degree of Litt.D. 
He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa college 
fraternity, and of the Twentieth Century Club. 

While in college his eyes failed him and his 
health broke down. The professors urged 
him to drop oiit for a year, but he objected, 
saying that if he left his class he shotdd never 
return. His classmates lent a helping hand 
by reading his lessons to him and he succeeded 
in graduating even above the middle of his 
class. 

Mr. Ginn had hoped to devote himself to 
purely literary work, but physically handi- 
capped as he was, he abandoned this purpose 
and determined to enter the publishing busi- 
ness. In coming to this decision he was 
actuated largely by a desire to influence the 
world for good, by putting the best books into 
the hands of school children. 

On leaving college he engaged in a small 



204 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



way in a school-book agency, buying his books 
outright, and thus was under obligation to 
no one. His first independent venture was 
the publishing of Craik's English of Shakes- 
peare, which he obtained from the house of 
Crosby and Ainsworth. The study of Shakes- 
peare had just begun to be taken up in colleges 
and secondary schools, and the young pub- 
lisher realized that it was an opportune time 
to put out this book. A little later he secured 
the services of the Rev. Henry N. Hudson, 
who edited for him twenty-one plays for the 
use of the schools and the Harvard edition of 
Shakespeare for libraries. 

His second work of importance was Allen's 
Latin Grammar, a book which was very well 
received. The success of this book led the 
young publisher to apply to Professor Goodwin 
of Harvard for a Greek Grammar. He called 
upon the professor and made known his errand; 
he at once said to him: "The manuscript 
you wish is in my desk at this moment, well- 
nigh finished." 

Professor Goodwin's "Moods and Tenses," 
had already established his name among 
Greek scholars, and almost immediately upon 
its publication his Greek Grammar found an 
entrance into nearly all the leading classical 
schools and colleges in the country. 

The popularity of Allen's Latin Grammar, 
however, was of short duration. It was soon 
found that the brief course was not sufficient 
for the schools, that a fuller treatise was neces- 
sary for the intelligent study of the texts. 
Therefore, Professor J. B. Greenough was called 
in to revise and enlarge this book, and to pre- 
pare editions of the Latin texts, Caesar, Cicero 
and Virgil. Professor Goodwin also enlarged 
and revised his Greek Grammar, and he and 
Professor John Williams White began the edit- 
ing of the Greek texts. These Latin and Greek 
books laid the foundation for the success of 
the house of Ginn and Company. 

Philanthropy of all kinds has always appealed 
to Mr. Ginn. He has given especial attention 
to the housing of the poor in model tenements, 
and to the cause of peace and arbitration, look- 
ing forward to the disarmament of the world's 
great armies. This last he counts as his 
greatest efTort for the good of mankind, and 



to this work he is giving a large amount of 
time and money. 

He was married in 1869 to Clara, daughter 
of Jesse and Martha (Bartlett) Glover; and 
again in 1893 to Francescam, daughter of 
Carl Christian and Maria Christiana (Vitriarius) 
Greb^, of Germany. By his first wife he had 
four children: Jessie, Maurice, Herbert and 
Clara; and by his second wife, two: Edwin, 
Jr., and Marguerita Christina. 



WALTER S. GLIDDEN 

Glidden, Walter S., a member of the 
Governor's Cotmcil for the years 1908-9-10, was 
bom in Pittston, now Randolph, Me., April 30, 




WALTER S. GLIDDEN 

1S5G, and resides at 380 Broadway, Somerville, 
Mass. He is a member of the firms of N. E. 
Hollis&Co.; Sands, Furber& Co.; L.A.Johnson 
& Co.; and the J. H. Whiton Company; 
director of J. V. Fletcher Company; president 
of HoUis Cold Storage Company; president of 
Hinckley Rendering Company; director of 
the New England Dressed Meat & Wool ^Com- 
pany; director of the Beacon Trust Company, 
Boston, and member of the executive com- 
mittee; director and chairman of the invest- 
ment committee of the Winter Hill Co-opera- 
tive Bank; director of the Somerville Trust 



BIOGRAPHIES 



205 



Company; president of the Winchester Home 
for Aged Women; vice-president and member 
of investment committee of the Charlestown 
Five Cents Savings Bank; vice-president 
and member of the finance committee of the 
Mutual Protection Fire Insurance Company; 
one of the board of management of Hunt's 
Home for Orphan Children, Charlestown; 
trustee of the Somerville Home for the 
Aged; trustee and member of the finance 
committee of the Somerville hospital; member 
of the Boston Fruit & Produce Exchange and 
Chamber of Commerce; member of Faith and 
Soley lodges, A.F. and A.M., Charlestown Royal 
Arch chapter, and Coeur de Lion commandery, 
Knights Templar; a thirty-second degree 
Mason; member of Olive branch, I.O.O.F., of 
Charlestown, and the Central Club of Somerville, 
Mass. 



WILLIAM WATSON GOODWIN 
Goodwin, William Watson, Ph.D., LL.D., 
D.L.C., for forty years Greek professor at Har- 
vard University, up to 1901, and from that year 
professor emeritus, was bom in Concord, Mass., 
on May 9, 1831, the son of Hersey Bradford 
Goodwin and Lucretia Ann (Watson) Goodwin. 
He was graduated from Harvard in 1851 and 
later studied at the universities in Berlin, Got- 
tingen and at Bonn. He was abroad till 1855. 
The next year he became a tutor in Greek at 
Harvard and continued as such until 1860, 
when he was appointed Eliot professor of Greek 
literature. This chair he filled for two-score 
years, giving up his active part in the depart- 
ment in 1901, while retaining his long and deep 
interest as professor emeritus. His knowledge 
of the classics was profound, as his industry was 
untiring. 

He was only the fourth professor to hold the 
Eliot professorship, although the Eliot endow- 
ment was established by Samuel Eliot, the 
grandfather of President Eliot. It was held 
first by Edward Everett, who was succeeded 
by Professor Popkin. Professor Felton suc- 
ceeded to the endowment in 1834. 

Just previous to his retirement Professor 
Goodwin was guest of honor at a dinner, given 
at Hotel Somerset by thirty of his colleagues, 
headed by Dr. Charles W. Eliot, then president 



of the University. He was given a magnificent 
silver loving cup, and the presentation was made 
by Bishop Lawrence. 

He received honorary degrees from Harvard, 
Columbia, Amherst, Yale and Chicago, as well 
as from Cambridge, Oxford, Gottingen and 
Edinburgh. He received from the King of Greece 
the decoration of Knight of the Cross of the 
Saviour. 




WILLIAM WATSOX GOODWIN 

Professor Goodwin was a most active sup- 
porter of the American School of Classical 
Studies in Athens, and he was its first director, 
in 1882-1883. Twice he was president of the 
American Philological Society. He was also a 
member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
the Archaeological Society and the Colonial 
Society. He was active in a number of social 
organizations. Some of the other societies of 
which he was a member are the Hellenic, Lon- 
don; Philological of Cambridge, England; 
Archaeological Society and Academy of Science, 
Athens; Hellenic, Constantinople; and Imperial 
German Archaeological Institute, Berlin. 

He brought distinction to Harvard and 
America through many of his published works. 
One of his last works was an edition of " DemoB- 



206 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



thenes on the Crown," published by the Cam- 
bridge (Eng.) University Press. He had not 
yet become recognized as one of the world's 
greatest Greek scholars when he published 
"The Greek Moods and Tenses," afterward 
considered as a standard work. Professor 
Goodwin was a generally accepted authority 
on Plato. He was also the author of a widely 
known work on Athenian law and of " Goodwin's 
Greek Grammar," known to every student in 
classical languages throughout the country. 

Professor Goodwin died June 16, 1912, at his 
residence, 5 Pollen Street, after an illness of 
about a month's duration. He was eighty-one 
years old, and succumbed to heart disease. 

His wife survives him. 



JOHN WILKES HAMMOND 

Hammond, John Wilkes, born in Rochester 
(now Mattapoisett), December 16, 1837, is 
the son of John Wilkes and Maria Louise (South- 




JOHN WILKES HAMMOND 



worth) Hammond. He received his education 
in the schools of his native town, fitting for 
college at the Mattapoisett Academy, and 
graduating from Tufts College in the class of 



1861. He began the practice of law in March, 
1866, having an office at East Cambridge. He 
continued to practice in Middlesex and adjoining 
counties until March 10, 1886, having in the 
meantime, from 1873 to 1886, been City SoHcitor. 
He was elevated to the Superior Court Bench 
at that date. On September 7, 1898, he received 
his appointment to the Supreme Court of Massa- 
chusetts, of which he is still a Justice. 

He enlisted September, 1862, in the Third 
Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and served 
nine months. He is a member of the Cam- 
bridge, Colonial and Union Clubs. He repre- 
sented Cambridge in the General Court in 1872 
and 1873, and has also served terms on the 
Common Council and School Committee. He 
was married in August, 1866, to Clara E., only 
daughter of Professor Benjamin Tweed, the 
well-known educator. 



LEANDER MOODY HANNUM 

Hannum, Leander Moody, one of Cam- 
bridge's most prominent real estate and mort- 
gage brokers, was bom in Northampton, Mass., 
December 22, 1837. He was the son of Alex- 
ander C. and Laura A. (Moody) Hannum, and 
was educated in the public schools of North- 
ampton and Chicopee, at Williston Seminary, 
Easthampton; and at the English and Classical 
Institute, Springfield. After he had finished 
at Williston, being seventeen years old, he 
went to California, where he spent two years 
in the mining fields, and upon his return, in 
185fi, resumed his studies at the Institute at 
Springfield, remaining there a year. He was 
employed for the next two years as salesman 
in the wholesale grocery house of J. W. Hale 
& Co., Springfield. Going to New York, he 
was employed as cashier and correspondent 
for Elias Howe, inventor of the Howe sewing 
machines, imtil 1864, when he came to Cam- 
bridge, and soon became extensively engaged 
in the grocery and ice business, and later 
in real estate, which business he followed 
with gratifying success. Mr. Hannum served 
the city in various public capacities. He 
was .first elected to office in 1873, as a 
member of the common council, where he 
served one year. In 1874 and 1875 he was 



BIOGRAPHIES 



207 



a member of the board of aldermen. In 1876 
and 1877 he represented his city in the House 
of Representatives, serving as chairman of 
the committees on public buildings and on 
street railways. In 18S1 and 1882 he was a 
member of the Senate, and there served as 
chairman of the committees on prisons and 
on state house, and a member of the insur- 
ance committee. He also served for several 



Lodge F. and A.M., and chairman of its board 
of trustees, past officer of the Cambridge Royal 
Arch Chapter, and member of the Boston 
Commandery; was an honorary member of 
several military organizations and G.A.R. 
Posts; of the Cambridge and Colonial Clubs, 
the Citizens' Trade Association, and of the 
Real Estate Association. 

Mr. Hannum was married December 15, 




LE.4NDER MOODY HAN'NU.M 



years as special commissioner for Middlesex 
County, and for twelve years as one of the 
water commissioners of Cambridge. For seven 
years he was chairman of the Republican city 
committee, and had been especially prominent 
in municipal politics, and was a member of 
the Library Hall Association. His church 
connections were with the Third Congregational 
(Unitarian) church, where he served many 
years as chairman of the parish committee. 
He was a member and past master of Amicable 



1869, to Anne Howard Demain. Mrs. Hannum 
died in April, 1909. This was a great sorrow and, 
no doubt, hastened Mr. Hannum's death, which 
occurred, September 17, 1909. He is survived 
by one sister, Esther F. Hannum, who has 
for many years been a member of his household. 
Mr. Hanntmi was a true type of a self-made 
man. He was liberal both in his views and 
,with his means; he was a man of high ideals, 
a wise counselor, a safe leader, a patriotic 
citizen, a good neighbor, and a loj'al friend. 



208 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Dr. WILFRED ERNEST HARRIS 
Harris, Wilfred Ernest, physician, was 
born at Aylesford, Nova Scotia, September 3, 
1873. His father, the late Major Thomas Rees 
Harris, merchant, military man and for many 
years representative of King's County in the 
Nova Scotia legislature, was born in 1837; and 
his mother, whose maiden name was Annie I. 
Farnsworth, in 1846. His paternal ancestors 
came from Massachusetts and were among the 
original grantees that settled in the Township 




Dr. WILFRED ERNEST H.\RRIS 

of Horton, King's County. On the maternal 
side he is a direct descendant of John Alden 
and Priscilla Mullens. 

Dr. Harris's early education was received in 
Nova Scotia, and he had the advantage of being 
instructed by private tutors as well. Foreseeing 
the important part that osteopathy would play 
in the art of healing, the young man decided 
to adopt it as his life work. He accordingly 
matriculated at the American School of Oste- 
opathy, Kirksville, Missouri, where he pursued 
his studies under the founder of Osteopathy, 
and from which he obtained his degree of Doctor 
in February, 1900. The post-graduate work 
that he did later in European hospitals supplied 



him with much valuable experience; so when 
he came to Cambridge, Massachusetts, a short 
time after, and began to practise, he was well 
prepared for his task. 

It was his intention, however, to continue 
his researches, and hence the offer of the chair 
of therapeutics in the Massachusetts College 
of Osteopathy was accepted by him with that 
end in view. How highly his services to that 
institution are appreciated is shown by the fact 
that four years later, when the then president 
retired, Dr. Harris was unanimously chosen to 
succeed him and has held that position since, 
also retaining the chair of therapeutics. His 
ability as an executive was given national recog- 
nition when, at the convention of the American 
Osteopathic Association in 1907, he was elected 
president of the Associated Colleges of Oste- 
opathy in America. 

The Cambridge Osteopathic and Surgical 
Sanitarium, an important addition to the insti- 
tutions of the city, was opened in 1903; Dr. 
Harris became resident physician, and subse- 
quently was made its president. For the past 
six years he has been giving special attention 
to diseases of the stomach and intestines. 

Though thus actively occupied with his pro- 
fessional duties, he has nevertheless found time 
to help propagate, by his lectures and writings, 
a clearer understanding of the aims of osteopathy. 
Much distinction has been won by him on ac- 
count of his addresses on this subject to scien- 
tific and popular audiences, among which might 
be mentioned those at Bates College, Maine, the 
Boston Physiological Society, the Greater New 
York Osteopathic Society and the Canadian 
Club of Boston, etc. 

His marriage took place in 1899, his wife being 
Miss Jean Cordelia Hammond Van Allen, a 
native of Morrisburg, Dundas County, Ontario. 
They have no children. 

Dr. Harris is a member of the following pro- 
fessional organizations: the American Oste- 
opathic Association; the Massachusetts Oste- 
opathic Society; the Academy of Osteopathic 
Physicians; and the Associated Colleges of 
Osteopathy, of which he was president in 1907 
and 1908. The religious and social bodies with 
which he is affiliated are the Episcopal Church, 
the British Charitable Society, the Canadian 
Club of Boston, the Intercolonial Club of Boston 



BIOGRAPHIES 



209 



and the Independent Order of Foresters. He 
is also a member of the firm of Fred E. Harris 
and Company, importers and merchants, of 
Aylesford, Nova Scotia. He is a registered 
physician of the Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts. His consulting office is at 483 Beacon 
Street, Boston, but his residence is in Cam- 
bridge. 



JOHN J. HIGGINS 
The life of John J. Higgins, district attorney 
of the County of Middlesex, reads like the story 
of one of Horatio Alger's heroes. The story 




JOHN J. HIGGIXS 

might be called "From Breaker Boy to Prose- 
cuting Attorney," for that is just what Mr. 
Higgins' experience has been. Since early 
youth he has been compelled to fight his own 
way, and to his undying ambition to rise in life 
is due the fact that he is now one of the chief 
officials of Middlesex County rather than a 
poor miner in the pits of the Pennsylvania coal 
mines. Bom in the North End of Boston, May 
17, 1865, of poor parents, he was moved from 
place to place with his parents, going at various 
times to Newark, Philadelphia, Savannah and 



to Scranton, where he worked as a breaker boy 
at the age of eight, receiving the munificent 
salary of seven dollars a month for his work. His 
mother died in 1874, when he was less than nine 
years old, and his father lost his life in the con- 
struction work of the Eads jetties at the mouth 
of the Mississippi River shortly after. At the 
age of ten the boy worked in a furniture store 
in Boston for two dollars a week, and still later 
worked on a farm in Madbury, near Dover, N.H. 
Here he attended the district school until he had 
learned all it could teach him. Then with 
but fifty cents that he had borrowed in his pocket, 
he went to Exeter, where he attended Phillips 
Academy. He graduated from Exeter in 1887, 
and that fall entered Harvard Law School, 
doing chores for his tuition and board. He 
was admitted to the Suffolk bar just after the 
completion of his second year at Harvard, and 
on the completion of his course opened an office 
in Boston. In 1891 he removed to Somerville 
where he still lives. 

In January, 1906, Mr. Higgins formed a law 
partnership with Albert A. Gleason with whom 
he is still associated. He was elected Alderman 
of Somerville, in 1902, and has also been a 
member of the legislature. In the fall of 1907 
he was elected district attorney, which office 
he has since held. He has filled the office with 
dignity and honesty, and has tried, as govern- 
ment prosecuting officer, many of the most 
sensational cases in the historj-' of the country. 



THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON 
HiGGi.NsoN, Thomas Wentworth, author, 
soldier, and reformer, was one of the men to 
whom Cambridge will always point with pride. 
He is the son of Stephen and Louisa (Storrow) 
Higginson, and was bom in this city, December 
22, 1823. His preparatory' education was 
received at the private school of William Wells. 
He was graduated from Harvard College in 
1841, and from the University Divinity School 
in 1847, when he was ordained as pastor of 
the First Congregational Society in Newbury- 
port. He left this church on account of anti- 
slavery preaching in 1850, and the same year 
ran as a Free-Soil candidate for Congress. He 
was pastor of a free church in Worcester from 
1852 to 185S, when he left the ministry, and 



210 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



devoted himself to literature. With Theodore 
Parker and Wendell Phillips he was indicted 
for murder for his connection with the at- 
tempted rescue of Anthony Bums, and was 
verj- prominent in all the exciting scenes of 
the troublous times just preceding the Civil 
War. He was a captain in the Fifty-first 
Massachusetts Regiment, and afterwards 
colonel of the First South Carolina Volunteers 
(later known as the Thirty-third United States 
Troops"), the first regiment of freed slaves en- 
listed in the National Armv. He took and 




THOMAS WEXTWORTH HIGGINSON 

held Jacksonville, Fla., but was wounded 
in South Carolina, in August, 1863, and in 
October, 1S64, resigned, on account of dis- 
ability. His subsequent life was devoted al- 
most entirely to literary pursuits. He resided 
in Newport from the time of his withdrawal 
from ser\'ice until 1878. 

Colonel Higginson was a member of the Massa- 
chusetts House of 1880 and 1881, serving as 
aide-de-camp to Governor J. D. Long during 
this time. From 1881 to 1883, he was a member 
of the state board of education, and was state 
military and naval historian. He was also a 
trustee of the Cambridge public library. 



Colonel Higginson was an earnest advocate of 
woman suffrage, and a prominent contributor 
to the literature of the cause. He was also 
a frequent contributor to the leading Ameri- 
can periodicals, and had written numerous 
histories and biographies. He was also promi- 
nent as a translator from the French, German 
and Italian, and was a popular lecturer. He 
married, September 16, 1847, Mary Elizabeth 
Channing, of Boston, and February 6, 1879, 
Marj- Pattee Thatcher, of West Newton. 

Mr. Higginson died at his home in Cambridge, 
May 9, 1911. 



OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, was bom in 
Cambridge, Middlesex County, August 29, 1809. 
He was the son of Rev. Abie! Holmes, D.D., and 
Sarah (Wendell) Holmes. His father was a 
native of Woodstock, Conn., a graduate of 
Yale in the Class of 1783, and pastor of the First 
Congregational Church, Cambridge, 1792 to 
1832. His mother was the daughter of the 
Hon. Oliver Wendell of Boston, a graduate of 
Harvard, and the son of Hon. Jacob Wendell, 
an eminent Boston merchant. 

Dr. Holmes obtained his preparatory educa- 
tion under the tuition of various instructors, 
during the year 1824-1825 at Phillips Academy, 
Andover, and matriculated at Harvard, graduat- 
ing therefrom in the famous class of 1829. 

After graduation he devoted a year to the 
study of law, but not finding it quite congenial 
to his tastes, abandoned it for that of medicine. 
In 1833 he visited Europe, previous to which 
he had chosen the medicinal profession, and 
for two years and six months had studied with 
Dr. James Jackson and his associates. While 
in Eiu-ope he attended L'Ecole de Medicine, 
Paris, and spent between two and three years 
in attendance on the hospitals in Europe. In 
1835 he returned to Boston, rejoined the medical 
school of Harvard University, and in 1836 
received his degree of M.D. In 1838 he became 
professor of anatomy and physiology in Dart- 
mouth College, and on the resignation of Dr. 
John C. Warren in 1847, was elected his suc- 
cessor to the chair of anatomy in the medical 
department of Harvard University. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



211 



In 1849 he retired from general practice, and 
although holding his professorship, he devoted 
himself now more especially to the pursuit of 
letters. He was professionally distinguished 
as an accurate anatomist and skillful micro- 
scopist and auscultator. 

But the widest fame of Oliver Wendell Holmes 
was as a poet, wit, and man of letters. From 
boyhood the Muse had been his constant at- 
tendant, and while the sun of prosperity wooed 
him to enjoy the genius of his life, the love 
of the beautiful led him on to accomplish. 
Many of his most charming efTusions have never 
been embalmed, save in the mcmorv of his 




OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES 

friends; but his best-known works are : "Terpsi- 
chore," "Urania," "Astrasa," "Autocrat of 
the Breakfast Table," "Professor at the Break- 
fast Table," "Elsie Venner," "The Guardian 
Angel," "Songs of Many Seasons," "Memoirs 
of John L. Motley, Ralph Waldo Emerson," etc. 
He was married June 15, 1840, to Amelia 
Lee, daughter of Hon. Charles Jackson, of 
Boston. Of this union were bom three children : 
Oliver Wendell, Jr., associate justice of the 
United States Supreme Court; Amelia Jackson, 
widow of the late Turner Sargent; and Edward 
Jackson Holmes. Dr. Holmes died October 7, 
1894. 



JOHN HOPEWELL 
Hopewell, John, is a notable example of 
Yankee push and industry. Bom in Green- 
field, February 2, 1845, the son of John and 
Catherine Hopewell, his early education was 



obtained in the public schools at Shelbume 
Falls, whither his parents moved when he was 
but a year old. He attended school until he 
was fourteen, and then entered the cutlery 
establishment of Lamson, Goodwin & Co., to 
learn the trade. During a part of this time he 
attended night school, and subsequently studied 
some time in a private academy. In ]S(Jl, he 
went to Springfield, and was employed in the 
armory there diiring the war, being dropped 
at its close in accordance with the order dis- 




JOHN HOPEWELL 

charging all single men. While at the armory 
he attended night school and learned book- 
keeping, afterwards securing a position as 
accountant, which he soon relinquished, how- 
ever, for more active pursuits. For a while 
he carried on a publishing business in Albany, 
N.Y. He then engaged in the sale of the 
products of L. C. Chase & Co., manufacturers 
of plushes, robes, blankets, etc., on the road, 
and afterwards located in Boston as their 
representative. The business of the concern 
increased rapidly, and in ISSS Mr. Hopewell 
succeeded the Chases, becoming the head of 
the firm, L. C. Chase & Co., and treasurer of 
the Sanford Mills. Though always taking an 
active part in public affairs, Mr. Hopewell was 



212 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



not politically active until 1887. In 1889 he 
was elected president of the Cambridge Repub- 
lican Club, which office he held till he went 
abroad, in 1892. In 1891 he was elected to 
the State Legislature, but was obliged to decline 
re-election, and also strong solicitation for the 
use of his name as candidate for Congress, on 
account of ill health. He is a strong Protec- 
tionist, and was a director of the Home Market 
Club a number of years; and of numerous 
corporations. Mr. Hopewell, is also largely 
engaged in the raising of Guernsey cattle on 
the Maple Ranch stock farrt^ at Natick. He 
was a director of the Boston Merchants Associa- 
tion in 1892, and is a member of the Colonial, 
Cambridge, and the Boston Art Club. 

He married, in 1870, Sarah W. Blake, of 
Springfield. They have three sons and two 
daughters. 

Mr. Hopewell now resides in Newton, Mass. 



HENRY OSCAR HOUGHTON 

Houghton, Henry Oscar, was born in 
Sutton, Vt., April 30, 1823, being the son of 
William and Morilla (Clay) Houghton. His 
ancestors were among the early New England 
colonists, the Houghtons first coming to this 
country in 1630, settling in Lancaster. When 
he was about ten years of age his parents moved 
to Bradford, on the Connecticut River, and 
after a few terms at the local academy, he 
became apprentice in the office of the Burling- 
ton Free Press. He afterwards worked at 
the printer's trade in Nunda, N.Y. Ambitious 
for an education, young Houghton devoted his 
evenings and spare moments to study, and at the 
age of nineteen entered the University of Ver- 
mont. After graduating in 1846, he came to 
Boston and worked at proof reading and 
reporting on the Traveller for about two years. 
He first began business as a master printer in 
1849, when with Mr. Bolles, of the firm of 
Freeman & Bolles, he established an office on 
Remington Street. In 1864, Mr. Houghton 
entered the publishing business, forming a 
partnership with Melancthon M. Hurd, of 
New York, under the name of Hurd & Hough- 
ton. The firm existed under the same name 
until 1878, when it was succeeded by that 



of Houghton, Osgood & Co., which came into 
possession of privileges covering the works of 
Longfellow, Lowell, Emerson, Hawthorne, 
Holmes and other prominent American writers, 
collected during a long period by other firms. 
Mr. Osgood retired in 1880, and was succeeded 
by Lawson Valentine, of New York. The 
house then took its present name, Mr. Mifflin 
having been admitted to partnership in 1872. 
His election to the office of mayor, in 1872, gave 
evidence of the esteem in which he was held 
by his fellow townsmen. Mr. Houghton's 
death occurred Augvist 25, 1895. 



GEORGE H. HOWARD 
The surname "Howard" originated in Eng- 
land during the thirteenth century and was 
derived from Hayward, Harward and Here- 
ward. The first to adopt the present form of 
spelling was, undoubtedly, William Howard, 
a learned and honored jurist in the reign of 
Edward I. That monarch married for his 
second consort Margaret, daughter of Philip 
the Hardy of France, and his eldest son by this 
marriage was Thomas Plantagenet, sumamed 
De Brotherton. The latter's great-grand- 
daughter, Margaret, who was the eldest daugh- 
ter of Thomas De Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, 
became the wife of Sir Robert Howard, a 
descendant of William Howard, the jurist, just 
mentioned. Howard was the family name of 
several dukes of Norfolk. The Howards of 
America, in common with those of the mother 
country, are the posterity of William the Jurist. 
The Howard family now being considered is 
thought to be the progeny of Robert and Mary 
Howard, who came from England and were 
early settlers in Dorchester, Mass., where 
Robert was made a freeman in 1635. Their 
children were Jonathan, Robert, Hannah, 
Jeremiah, Bethia, Mary Temperance and 
perhaps others. Robert (2) Howard, second 
son and child of Robert and Mary Howard, 
was admitted a freeman in Boston in 1683. 
By his wife Elizabeth he had Sarah, Robert 
and Samuel. Thomas Howard, probably a 
grandson of Robert and Elizabeth Howard, 
resided in Boston. He was the father of 
Thomas Benjamin, Joseph and Mary. Joseph 
married and reared two children, Joseph and 



BIOGRAPHIES 



213 



Mary. Thomas (2) Howard, eldest son of 
Thomas, was'bom in 1749, probably in Boston. 
He settled in Hingham, Mass., where he fol- 
lowed the trade of cooper, and his death oc- 
curred 'there, August 29, 1829, at the age of 
seventy -nine years. He was married in Hing- 
ham, November 14, 1776, to Sarah Mansfield, 
bom in that town October 9, 17.34, daughter 



Sarah, Thomas, Benjamin, Molly, Ned (who 
died in infancy), another Ned, Waters (died 
at the age of one year), Charles, Edward and a 
second Waters. Thomas (3) Howard, second 
child and eldest son of Thomas and Sarah 
(Mansfield) Howard, was bom in Hingham, 
Mass., September 30, 1779. On January 7, 1807 
he married Hannah Wilder, and in 1810 he 



■*-.r 





GEORGE H. HOWARD 



of Joseph and Sarah (Waters) Mansfield, and 
died August 19, 1817. She was a descendant 
in the fifth generation of John and Elizabeth 
(Famsworth) Mansfield, the former of whom 
was made a freeman at Hingham, in 1684, and 
his wife was of Dorchester. The line of descent 
from John and EHzabeth is through John (2), 
Joseph (3), and Joseph (4). The children of 
Thomas and Sarah (Mansfield) Howard were 



removed to a farm in Ashbumham, Mass., 
residing there for the rest of his life, which 
temiinated November 3, 1861. His wife, who 
died November 14, 1870, was a daughter of 
Samuel and Hannah (Lasell) Wilder, and a 
descendant in the sixth generation through 
Samuel (4), Thomas (3), and Isaac (2) of 
Edward Wilder, the emigrant ancestor of all 
of that name who have resided in Hingham. 



214 



A HISTORN' ol" CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



The latter was granted land in Hingham in 
1637, and admitted a freeman in 1()44. Mrs. 
Hannah Howard was the mother of seven 
children, Hannah, Thomas, Samuel AV., Lewis, 
George H., Mary W. and Lucy M. Thomas 
(4) Howard, second child and eldest son of 
Thomas and Hannah (Wilder) Howard, was 
bom in Hingham, October 28, 1809. When a 
young man he settled in East Cambridge, 
where he was a dealer in coal, and later worked 
in the New England Glass Works. He died 
November 17, 1850. December 3, 1835 he 
married Hannah Elizabeth, daughter of Joel S. 
Wright, who was at one time town clerk of 
Acton, Mass., and his maternal grandfather was 
Captain David Hrown, who commanded a com- 
pany of minute men at the North Bridge, Con- 
cord, April HI, 1775. Thomas and Hannah E. 
(Wright) Howard were the parents of three 
sons; Frank Edson, bom March 12, 1837 
(died January 14, 18(33), George H., who will 
be again referred to, and Thomas Melville, 
bom November 26, 1844. The latter, who 
married Mary Elizabeth Mattell, died in Somer- 
ville, October 12, 1900. George Henry Howard, 
second son of Thomas and Hannah E. (Wright) 
Howard, was bom in East Cambridge, Novem- 
ber 13, 1838. He attended school in Pepperell 
and Cambridge, and at the conclusion of his 
studies he found employment at the New 
England Glass Works in East Cambridge. 

In April, 18()1, he enlisted for service in the 
Civil War, in a company raised in Cambridge, 
which was assigned to the Sixteenth Regiment, 
Massachusetts Volimteer Infantry, as Company 
A, and proceeding to the front joined the forces 
under the command of General Wool. In the 
fall of 1861 he was promoted to the first-lieu- 
tenancy of Company C, of Groton, which was 
ordered to Baltimore for the purpose of pro- 
tecting troops passing through the city; and 
his regiment subsequently joined the command 
of General McClellan at Fortress Monroe, where 
he witnessed the famous action between the 
Merrimac and the Monitor. He afterwards 
served in the Army of the Potomac, partici- 
pating in the battle of Seven Pines and several 
other important engagements, including the 
second battle of Bull Run. 

As his elder brother had been stricken with 
a fatal illness, and his younger brother was 



also serving his country in the Army, he was 
obliged to resign his commission in order to 
care for his family, and he reluclanth- withdrew 
from the service for that purpose. 

Accepting a position at the Portland (Me.) 
Glass Works, he had charge of the mould 
department there for four years, at the expira- 
tion of which time he resigned in order to accept 
a more lucrative position that had been oflfered 
to him by the management of the newly estab- 
lished glass works in Montreal, Province of 
Qtiebec, and he remained in that city some 
eighteen months. Returning to Cambridge 
he pursued a special course at Bryant and 
Stratton's Business College, at the conclusion 
of which he accepted an appointment as a 
constable on the state police force under Major 
Jones, and retained it until 1871. In the latter 
year he entered as a bookkeeper the employ 
of W. L. Lockhart, manufacturer of and whole- 
sale dealer in undertakers' supplies, and was 
admitted to partnership in 1893, and is still 
engaged in that business. 

In politics Mr. Howard is a Republican, and 
during the past thirty-eight years has fre- 
quently been elected to public office. For 
the years 1873, 1874, 1881, 1882, 1883 and 1884, 
he served in the Cambridge common council, 
being president of that body for three years; 
was a member of the board of aldermen in 
1875 and 1876; was appointed one of the 
sinking fund commissioners in 1887, and a 
member of the water board in 1888, retaining 
both of these important trusts for a number 
of years. 

He was trustee and is now vice-president 
of the Wildley Savings Bank and was formerly 
a director of the East Cambridge Savings Bank. 
He was made a Master Mason in Portland, 
Lodge No. 1, from which he was demitted to 
Putnam Lodge, Cambridge, entered the chapter 
of Royal Arch Masons in 1882, and is a charter 
member of Cambridge Commandery, Knights 
Templar. He is also affiliated with New Eng- 
land Lodge, I.O.O.F., and P. Steams Davis, 
Post 57, G.A.R., the Knights of Honor and 
the Knights and Ladies of Honor; is one of 
the original members of the New England 
Order of Protection, in which he has occupied 
all of the important chairs; is a comrade of 
Post No. 57, G.A.R., of which he served as 



BIOGRAPHIES 



215 



commander for twelve terms or until declining 
further election; and is a member of the 
Cambridge and Colonial Clubs. 

For twenty-five consecutive years prior to 
1896 he was superintendent of the Sunday 
school connected with the Second Baptist 
church, and was at one time a director of the 
Young Men's Christian Association. April 
28, 1861, Mr. Howard married Miss Charlotte 
Bruce Wickens, who was bom in Shelbum, 
N.S., Jtme 23, 1840, daughter of Joseph and 
Isabella Wickens. Of this union there are 
two daughters, Lottie Evangeline, bom March 
14, 1S62, and Lillie Belle, bom March 10, 1<S()5. 
Lillie Belle is now the wife of Hubert W. Pierce, 
of Newton, Mass., and their children are Earle 
Howard, bom February 3, 1888, and Ruth 
Evangeline, bom January 2, 1898. Earle 
Howard Pierce graduated from Dartmouth 
in 1910, and took the Thayer course in 1911. 



ARCHIBALD MURRAY HOWE 
Howe, Archibald Murray, eldest son of 
James M. and Harriet B. (Clarke) Howe, was 
bom in Northampton, Mass., May 20, 1848. 
He acquired his early education in the public 
schools of Brookline, including the High School, 
and from the latter entered Harvard University, 
taking his bachelor's degree with the Class of 
1869. Among his classmates were Frank D. 
Millet, Francis G. Peabody and Henry Marion 
Howe, son of Dr. Samuel G. and Julia Ward 
Howe, and now professor of metallurgy at Co- 
lumbia University. Having pursued the regular 
course at the Harvard Law School and obtained 
the necessary practical experience in the office 
of George S. Hillard, he was admitted to prac- 
tice in the courts of Massachusetts, in June, 
1872. Possessing a taste and capacity for 
political life and being desirous of obtaining a 
practical knowledge of the scheme of federal 
government, he accepted the position of private 
secretary to the Hon. Henr\- L. Pierce, and 
retained it during the sessions of the Forty- 
third Congress, residing at the national Capital 
for a period of eleven months. In 1875 he 
became associated in the practice of law with 
Henry F. Buswell and Charles H. Walcott, and 
has ever since been actively connected with the 
legal profession of Boston and Cambridge, in 



which latter city he has resided for many years. 
Although well versed in the general practice 
of law, he devotes his attention chiefly to the 
administration of estates and the care of trust 
funds, and in this special field of usefulness he 
has been eminently successful. 

Mr. Howe is widely and favorably known, 
both for his fine legal attainments and his 
numerous commendable personal characteris- 
tics, prominent among which is his patriotism 
and implicit faith in the integrity and justice 
of our state and national political institutions, 
and on more than one occasion he has forcibly 
demonstrated the wisdom of his advanced views 
relative to their improvement. In politics he 
acts independently and takes a lively interest 
in all important issues — municipal, state and 
national. In 1877 he served in the Cambridge 
Council, was in 1890 chosen representative to 
the legislature on a combined Democratic and 
Independent ticket, and in various other ways 
has rendered valuable public services, being an 
earnest advocate of civil service reform. In 
his rehgious belief he is a Unitarian, being a 
member of the First Parish Church, Cambridge, 
and a life member of the American Unitarian 
Association. He is also a member of the St. 
Botolph Clul), Boston, and was vice-president 
of the Massachusetts Refomi Club. 

On June 4, 1881, Mr. Howe was united in 
marriage with Arria Sargent Dixwell, daughter 
of Eps Sargent and Mary Ingersoll (Bowditch) 
Dixwell, of Cainbridge. 



THEODORE C. HURD 
HuRD, Theodore C, well known to the 
public as Clerk of the Middlesex Coimty Courts, 
having held this office since 1872, was bom in 
Newton, January 19, 1837, and was the son of 
Sarah B. and William Hurd. He received his 
education at Framingham Academy and Union 
College, and later graduated from the Harvard 
Law School. He was admitted to the Middle- 
sex Bar in 1860, and served as district attorney 
for six years. He was a lieutenant in the 
Forty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment, and acted 
as judge advocate for the department of North 
Carolina. He was a member of the Loj'al Legion 
and the G.A.R., and a prominent member of 
several social clubs. He was a representative 



216 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



to the General Court in 1867, 1869, 1870 and 
1871, serving on important committees, and 
was a member of the aldermanic board of 1873. 
Few men have a larger circle of friends than 
Mr. Hurd, and his ability and courtesy in 
filling his official position have met with merited 
recognition. 

Theodore C. Ilurd was married twice. His 
frst marriage, to Mary Elizabeth Piatt, took 
place at Newark, Del., May 1, 1862. By this 
marriage he had four children: George Piatt, 




THEODORE C. HURD 

bom May 9, 1863; Kate Gemmill, bom Decem- 
ber 23, 1864; Sarah Hooker, bom July 8, 1866; 
Jenny Lindsay, bom October 13, 1867. He 
was married to his second wife, Alice May 
Howard, at Watertown, September 23, 1879. 
The children born of this marriage are: Roger 
Howard (April 13, 1881), WilUam Minot (Feb- 
mary 2, 1883), and Theodore Chester (Febm- 
ary 25, 1885). 

Theodore C. Hurd died May 25, 1911. 



County, was born in Cambridge, April 13, 1881, 
being a son of Theodore Hurd. The family 
moved to Winchester in 1888, and Roger Hurd 
attended the public schools there. He left the 
High School in 1898 and entered the Boston 
Art School that fall. 

Since the summer of 1899 he has been em- 
ployed in the office of the Clerk of Courts. He 
was appointed Fourth Assistant Clerk, March 
27, 1903, and Second Assistant, January 5, 1912. 

He was married on May 25, 1906, to Miss 
Elsie May Dean. They have one daughter, 
Virginia AHce, bom March 11, 1907. 

Mr. Hurd served one enlistment in the First 
Corps Cadets, M.V.M. He is a member of 
the Winchester Country Club. 



EDWIN HENRY JOSE 
Jose, Edwin Henry, born in Hollis, Me., 
April 27, 1847, is a son of Benjamin Berry and 
Harriet Jose. He received his preliminary 
education in the schools of his native town, 
Biddeford High School, Limerick Academy, 
and Waterville Classical Institute. He grad- 
uated from the Harvard Law School in 1873 
with the degree of Bachelor of Law, and began 
the practice of law in Cambridge in November 
of that year. In the course of his professional 
duties he has served as counsel for various large 
corporations. Mr. Jose has lived in Cambridge 
since beginning to practice in 1873. He married, 
in 1867, Emma E. Parlin. 



ROGER H. HURD 
Hurd, Roger Howard, of Winchester, Sec- 
ond Assistant Clerk of Courts, Middlesex 



STILLMAN FRANCIS KELLEY 
Kelley, Stillman Francis, has had a career 
which is one of the notable examples of the 
success so frequently achieved by Cape Cod 
boys in mercantile life. He was bom at East 
Dennis, Mass., Febmary 28, 1851. His parents 
were StUlman and Olive (Howes) Kelley; his 
father was bom in Han\'ich, Mass., February 
16, 1816, and his mother in East Dennis, Mass. 
His early education was received in the schools 
of his native town, and later he prepared himself 
for business in the Boston schools. He was 
formerly a member of the firm of Stillman F. 
Kelley & Co. This firm did the largest business 
in the importation and jobbing of sugar and 
molasses in the country. 




Mbs. Edward H. Kendall 



BIOGRAPHIES 



217 



Mr. Kelley is a director in several important 
companies and corporations, and for several 
years had an active interest in the management 
of the Faneuil Hall National Bank. 

As a member of the Cambridge Water Board 
he has excellently served the city, devoting 
much time and energy to the important under- 
takings of that body. On October 13, 1875, 
he married Chloe C. Sears, bom in East Dennis, 
daughter of Nathan and Sarah C. Sears, both 
of whom were bom and always lived in East 
Dennis. Two children were born of this mar- 
riage: Stillman Randolph Kelley, bom Decem- 
ber 17, 1878, who died May 24, 1911; and 
Edmund Scars Kelley, bom December 16, 1886. 



EDWARD KENDALL 
Kendall, Edward, was bom in Holden, 
Mass., December 3, 1821, being the son of 
Caleb and Dolly (Sawyer) Kendall. His boy- 
hood was spent on his father's farm (in farm 
work) and study in the village school. When 
he became of age he made his first business 
venture, embarking in the lumber trade. In 
1847, removing to Boston, he became an ap- 
prentice in the West Boston Machine Shop. 
Here he made rapid progress, being transferred 
to the boiler department after nine months' 
service, and soon after becoming superintendent 
of that department, which position he held for 
eleven years. In 1860 he entered business on 
his own account, establishing the firm of 
Kendall & Davis, at Cambridgeport, and giving 
special attention to the making of boilers 
In 1865 the firm name was changed to Kendall 
& Roberts, and subsequently, upon the admis- 
sion of Mr. Kendall's sons, it became Edward 
Kendall & Sons. During his long and suc- 
cessful career Mr. Kendall has made numerous 
improvements and inventions in boiler manu- 
facture, and has become widely known in his 
trade. He has been a life-long advocate of 
temperance, and few men have been more 
devoted to the cause. In 1886 he was the 
Prohibition candidate for Congress from the 
Fifth District, and was candidate for governor 
on that ticket in 1893. He has been a director 
of the Massachusetts Temperance Alliance 
since 1888, and was for two years president of 
the Cambridge Temperance Reform Associa- 



tion. He has always taken a deep interest 
in city affairs, having served his city in the 
General Courts of 1875 and 1876, and in the 
board of aldermen in 1871, 1872, 1873. He was 
one of the founders, and is senior deacon, of the 
Pilgrim Congregational church, and is promi- 
nent in the work of the denomination. Since 




EDWARD KEXDALL 

1890 he has been a director of the Cambridge- 
port National Bank. Mr. Kendall is a member 
of the Congregational Club, of Boston, and the 
Cambridge Club. He married, December 16, 
1847, Miss Reliance Crocker, of Paxton, Mass. 



CHESTER WARD KINGSLEY 
KiNGSLEY, Chester Ward, was bom and 
educated in Brighton, Mass., now a part of 
Boston. He passed the greater part of his life 
in Cambridge, and in all schemes for the city's 
good he was found in the fore. Bom Jime 9, 
1824, the son of Moses and Mary (Montague) 
Kingsley, he was left fatherless at the age 
of four years, and thrown upon his own 
resources at the age of ten. For the next five 
years he worked in the then wilds of Michigan. 
Returning to Brighton, he resumed his studies, 



218 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



and graduated from the high school. He soon 
found a place as messenger in the old Brighton 
Bank, and was successively made clerk and 
teller, and in 1851, he became cashier of the 
Cambridge Market Bank, which position he 
held for five years. In 185G he entered the 
wholesale provision business, and was very 
prosperous. Retiring in ISOo, he became 
treasurer of an anthracite coal-mining company. 



foresight as president of the board that inaugu- 
rated the present magnificent water system 
of the city caused him to be known as the 
"Father of the Cambridge Water Works." 

Politically, he has been a life-long Republican 
Prohibitionist. He was a trustee of the Newton 
Theological Institute, Colby University, and 
Worcester Academy. He was president of the 
American Baptist Society, and of the Massa- 




CHESTER W.ARD KINGSLEY 



He was for eight years president of the Brighton 
National Bank, the successor of the old bank 
where he had begun his career. Mr. Kingsley 
served his city in the board of aldermen and 
school board; also in the House of Representa- 
tives in 1882, 1883, 1884, and in the Senate in 
1888 and 1889. He was for thirty years a 
member of the water board, and for a number 
of years president of that body. His zeal and 



chusetts Baptist Convention, andj he was 
for some years one of the executive committee 
of the American Baptist Missionary Union, 
and president of the Boston Baptist Social 
Union. He was a member of the Cambridge, 
Colonial and Massachusetts Clubs. 

He married in May, 1846, Mary Jane Todd, 
daughter of Daniel and Hannah Todd, of 
Brighton, Mass. Mrs. Kingsley died December 



/ 



'%% 








BIOGRAPHIES 



219 



28, 1904. Mr. Kingsley passed away just 
five days after the death of his wife, January 1, 
1904. They had seven children, but only one, 
Mrs. Ella J. Bacon, widow of Clinton Bacon, 
survives. 

Mr. Kingsley was tndy a noble and a good 
man. His interest was always keen in all good 
causes, and not a few educational and religious 
institutions felt, while he lived, the quickening 
impulse of his great liberality. Endowed with 
rare gifts as a business man, he amassed a large 
property, but always felt the duty of using it, 
to as great an extent as possible, for the good 
of his fellowmen. This trait was marked in 
his life, and he will long be remembered for it. 
Mr. Kingsley's service to the city of Cambridge, 
which he loved, was as great as it was unselfish. 



City and suburbs quartering their horses and 
fine carriages here, certain that they will secure 
the best possible attention. In keeping pace 
with modern changes and conditions, Mr. Lake 
not long ago installed a ser\'ice of touring cars 
and auto cabs, which today is one of the appre- 
ciated features of the social and business life 
of Cambridge. Of course, Mr. Lake also main- 
tains the same high standard in his carriage 



CHARLES H. LAKE 

Lake, Charles H., is perhaps one of the 
best-known business men and citizens of Cam- 
bridge. Notwithstanding his activities in the 
business world, he has found time to devote 
to the service of both country and city. He is 
a member of the First Regiment Veteran Asso- 
ciation, and at one time served in the state 
militia, retiring with the rank of captain. He 
stands high in Masonic circles, and is a Mystic 
Shriner. During his thirty years' residence 
in Cambridge he has been several times elected 
to the Common Council and the Board of Alder- 
men, serving most acceptably in both branches 
of the City Government. He was in the Council 
two years and in the Board of Aldermen three 
years. He was president of the Board the last 
two years, where he performed the duties of 
the office most efficiently. In social circles 
Mr. Lake is also well known, being an active 
supporter of the Newtowne club, where he is 
on one of the bowling teams. In addition he 
takes a most acti\'e interest in the Harvard 
Square Business Men's Association and the 
Citizens' Trade Association. 

Mr. Lake is treasurer and manager of the 
Cambridge Coach Co., which was incorporated 
in 1902, being originally established in 1835, by 
Royal Simpson. Its headquarters are at 35 
and 38 Church Street. The Company has for 
many years enjoyed a most select boarding 
patronage, horse owners from all parts of the 




CHARLES H. LAKE 

and coach service. Carriages or touring cars, 
of large or smaU seating capacity, may be hired 
at any hour of the day or night at most reason- 
able rates. Furthennore, the concern's corps 
of dri\'ers and chauffeurs are the most gentle- 
manly, careful and thoroughly experienced of 
any to be procured. They are familiar with 
all parts of the country which they are likely 
to cover. Vehicles may be rented for balls, 
parties, weddings, for shopping, for funerals, or 
for pleasure driving, and a prompt and efficient 
service is assured. 



ERASMUS DARWIN LEAVITT 
Leavitt, Erasmus Darwix, of Cambridge, 
son of Erasmus Darwin and Almira (Fay) 



220 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



Leavitt, was bom in Lowell, Mass., October 27, 
1836. He was educated in the Lowell public 
schools and entered the machine shop of the 
Lowell Manufacturing Company in April, 1852, 
where he served three years as an apprentice, 
at the close of which time he worked under 
instruction for a year at the works of Corliss & 
Nightingale, Providence, R.I., the birthplace 
of the Corliss engine. From 1856 to 1858 he 
was engaged in developing some inventions 
in steam engineering, for which a patent had 
been granted to him in 1855. In 1858 and 
1859 he was assistant foreman at the City 
Point Works, South Boston, and had charge 
of building the engines for the flagship Hart- 
ford. From 1859 to 1861 he was chief draughts- 
man for Thurston, Gardner & Company, of 
Providence, R.I., leaving there to enter the 
United States navy in the siimmer of 1861 
as third assistant engineer. He served through 
the war of the rebellion, and during his term 
of service was detailed to the Naval Academy 
at Annapolis as instructor in steam engineer- 
ing. Resigning in 1867, he resumed the prac- 
tice of mechanical engineering, making a 
specialty of pumping and mining machinery. 

In 1872 Mr. Leavitt designed and patented 
a novel pumping engine which was first used 
at Lynn, Mass.; and on accoimt of its remark- 
able performance it became celebrated in 
Europe as well as in this country; similar 
engines were subsequently erected at Lawrence 
Mass., Louisville, Ky., and at the sewage station 
of the city of Boston. 

In 1874 he became connected with the famous 
Calimiet and Hecla Copper Mine as an ad\'iser 
of mechanical matters, and was consulting 
engineer of the company until 1904, when he 
retired from active practice. During his term 
of sen-ice with the company, he furnished the 
designs and plans for its huge equipment, which 
so materially reduced the cost of mining. He 
has also acted as consulting engineer to the 
cities of Boston and Louisville, and to the finn 
of Henry R. Worthington, of New York, the 
celebrated builders of pumps. He is a member 
of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 
American Institute of Mining Engineers, Ameri- 
can Society of Mechanical Engineers (and past 
president of same), Boston Society of Civil 
Engineers, American Society of Naval Engi- 



neers, life member of the British Association for 
the Advancement of Science, member of the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the 
Institution of Civil Engineers and the Insti- 
tution of Mechanical Engineers of Great 
Britain. In 1884 he received the honorary 
degree of Doctor of Engineering from the 
Stevens Institute of Technology, of Hoboken, 
N.J. He is a member of the Union and Com- 
mercial Clubs of Boston, and the Colonial 
Club of Cambridge. 

Mr. Leavitt was married, June 5, 1867, to 
Annie Elizabeth, daughter of William Pettit, 
of Philadelphia, who was the pioneer in loco- 
motive building in the United States, and long 
connected with the Baldwin Locomotive 
Works. Mrs. Leavitt died December 28, 1889. 
Their children were Mary Alford, Hart Hooker, 
Margaret Alraira, Harriet Sherman and Annie 
Louise. Of these, three are living: Mary A., 
Margaret A. and Annie L. 

Mr. Leavitt's life has been one of close appli- 
cation to his chosen profession, and today he 
occupies a leading position among the most 
eminent engineers of this country and of Europe, 
his ability being recognized by all his contem- 
poraries. During his several trips abroad he 
has received marked attention from engineers, 
and from the various engineering societies. He 
was a wann personal friend of the late Herr 
Krupp, of Essen, who frequently consulted 
him concerning engineering matters. 



WILLIAM L. LOCKHART 
LocKH.\RT, William L., a prominent mortu- 
ary supply manufacturer of Boston for over 
fifty years, was born at Horton, N.S., July 20, 
1827, and died at his home in Belmont, Mass., 
February 21, 1902. He came to Boston at 
the age of fifteen years, from his native place, 
and being unable to pay for his passage he 
worked his way as cook on board a vessel — 
an experience which he would often mention 
when sailing out of the harbor on the steam 
yacht which he afterward owned, and on which 
he spent much of his time. After walking 
the streets endeavoring to find employment, 
he started to walk to the city of Salem, to 
answer an advertisement for an apprentice, 
in order to save what little money he had, he 





Ci^^ 



BIOGRAPHIES 



221 



paid his fare over the toll-bridge with a lead 
pencil; he failed to secure the position he 
wanted, but fell in with a sea captain, an old 
friend, who took him to Nova Scotia. For 
the next two years he went to sea, and then 
came to Boston again, being full of pluck and 
determination to succeed this time. After a 
hard struggle he apprenticed himself to a 
stair builder, receiving for his first year's 
service, fifty dollars, of which he saved twenty- 
five (at the present time there are not many 
boys that possess the same pluck and energ}')- 
He then visited Nova Scotia and returned to 
Boston to finish his apprenticeship of three 
years at stair-building, proving himself so 
competent and skilful that he was rapidly 
pushed ahead. A few years later he went to 
work for John Peak, casket manufacturer of 
Boston. He remained there six years, at first 
doing piece work, and later as a contractor 
hiring his own help. At the end of six years 
he went into business for himself in the manu- 
facture of caskets and robes, building a small 
wooden factory on Cambridge Street, East 
Cambridge. As he only had three hundred 
dollars, he obtained the lumber on credit for 
his factor^' from a lumber merchant who had 
faith enough in his business ability to tell him 
he could have all the lumber he wanted. Not 
long afterward his factor^' was burned, with 
only an insurance of one thousand four hundred 
dollars, although the property was worth five 
thousand dollars. It was characteristic of 
him, that on hearing through a friend that 
the insurance agent said to a friend he expected 
to save a couple of hundred dollars by settling 
the loss immediately, at less than its actual 
value, he refused to accept as much as one 
cent less than the full amount, which he finally 
received, though he was obliged to wait six 
months for it. He subsequently bought a 
brick factory on Bridge Street, East Cambridge, 
being backed financially by the same lumber 
merchant who helped him before. He after- 
ward bought considerable more land adjoining 
his factory and put up a number of wooden 
buildings, including a stable for thirty horses. 
By his energ>' and perseverance he succeeded 
in increasing his business, and in 1887, bought 
the lot of land at the comer of Staniford and 
Causeway Streets, Boston, and erected a large 



brick building, containing offices and ware- 
rooms. A few years later, his two brothers, 
Albert E. and C. H. Lockhart, and George H. 
Howard, who had been with him for twenty- 
six years, were taken into partnership. At 
the time of his death, the concern employed 
over one hundred hands. Always fond of the 
sea it was one of his earliest ambitions to own 
a boat. When his circumstances enabled him 
to realize this ambition, his first venture was 
the sloop yacht Tartar; next came the Nautilus, 
also a sloop; later on he bought the Alice, a 
schooner, and still later the Troubador of the 
same rig, but larger. His latest purchase was 
the steam yacht Starling, a one hundred and 
twenty-five foot over all, which he owned at 
the time of his death. With the Troubador 
he once defeated the America in a cup race 
against Ben Butler. He also won a number of 
races with the Alice. He was a member of 
the Massachusetts, Hull and Boston Yacht 
Clubs, and of the St. Augustine Yacht Club of 
Florida; and was a familiar figure in yachting 
circles. He was a member of the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company, and a former 
member of the Lancers, having been four days 
in the saddle doing escort duty at the time of 
the visit of the Prince of Wales to Boston. 
About the year 1880, he bought the house in 
Belmont, surrounded by considerable land, 
where he resided up to the time of his death. 
He was quite largely interested in real estate 
in Cambridge. An injury to his skull, caused 
by being thrown from his carriage some time 
in 1887, brought on an illness from which he 
never fully recovered, being troubled at inter- 
vals for the remainder of his life; his death, in 
fact, being traceable to this cause. During 
the last four years of his life he relinquished 
the more active oversight of his business to 
others, though taking a keen interest in it up 
to the time of his death. He passed most of 
the winter in travel, either in this country or 
Europe, having spent twenty consecutive 
winters in Florida, with the exception of one, 
which he spent in California. 

Mr. Lockhart was married in 1851, to Miss 
Lucy O. Smith, of Kennebunk, Me. Mrs. 
Lockhart died December 6, 1912, being survived 
by an adopted daughter, wife of Dr. Joseph S. 
Lockhart of Cambridge. 



222 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Among business men he was known as a man 
of the highest credit and of strict business in- 
tegrity, while his genial and afTable manner and 
generous heart made for him a host of friends, 
among whom he was most deservedly popular. 
His funeral was attended by his old patrons 
and business associates. The manufacturers 
were represented by the Miller Bros., Geo. E. 
Holbrook, The National Casket Co.; by P. B. 
Heintz and Edward J. Parmelee, Domtee Co.; 
by H. A. Stone, Hollings & Co., Samuel Silver, 
and newspaper representatives of Boston and 
Cambridge; the Ancient and Honorable Artil- 
lery Company, and employees at the factory. 
The floral oft'erings were many and of various 
appropriate designs, being given by the famih', 
relatives and business associates, and The 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. 



HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, was born 
in Portland, Me., February 27, 1807. He 
attended Bowdoin College, and graduated there 
in 1825. His father, Hon. Stephen Longfellow, 
was a lawT,-er, and it was in his office that young 
Longfellow began to study law. Upon receiv- 
ing, a little later, the appointment of professor 
of modern languages at Bowdoin, he gave up 
the study of law, and devoted himself to teach- 
ing and literature. To prepare himself better 
for this career, he spent three years traveling 
in Europe. The studies that he pursued while 
abroad were such as to increase his qualifica- 
tions for educational work. Having returned 
to America, he gave a course of lectures at the 
college, the subjects being modem languages 
and literature. At the same time he occasion- 
ally contributed to the North American Review, 
and other periodicals. In 1833 he issued his 
first volume — "An Essay on the Moral and 
Devotional Poetry of Spain;" it now forms 
part of "Outre-Mer," and is no longer published 
as an independent work. When George Ticknor 
retired from the position of professor of modem 
languages and literature at Harvard College, 
Longfellow was asked to succeed him. He 
accepted the offer, and, as before, went to Europe 
for the purpose of additional study. This time 
he included Switzerland and the Scandinavian 
countries in his itinerary. His connection with 
Harvard College lasted till 1854, and he resided 



in Cambridge not only during that period, but 
for the remaining j^ears of his life. The house 
he lived in is variously known as the Craigie 
House, Washington's headquarters, and the 
home of Everett, Sparks and Worcester, the 
lexicographer. Most of Longfellow's works 
were written there, and there he died on March 
24, 1882. 

In addition to "Outre-Mer," which has al- 
ready been mentioned, and which contained 
the results of the poet's delving into the riches 
of Old World life, there appeared in 1839 another 
work of the same character, but in form more 
narrative — "Hyperion, a Romance." A small 
book entitled "Voices of the Night," a collection 
of poems and translations printed at divers 
times in periodicals, came from the press the 
same year; "The Psalm of Life," "The Be- 
leaguered City," and "Footsteps of Angels," 
were in this volume. "Ballads, and other 
Poems," and "Poems on Slavery," were pub- 
lished in 1842; "The Spanish Student," a play, 
in 1843; "The Belfry of Bmges and other 
Poems," in 1846; "Evangeline," in 1847, and 
"Kavanagh, a Tale," in prose, in 1849. Among 
the best known works of Longfellow, may be 
mentioned "The Golden Legend," "The Song 
of Hiawatha," "The Courtship of Miles Stand- 
ish," "Tales of a Wayside Inn," "The New 
England Tragedies," and the translation of 
Dante's "Divine Comedy." 

Longfellow is considered the leadirvg minor 
poet. That England, as well as America, appre- 
ciates his services to literature is evident from 
the fact that his bust occupies a prominent 
place in Westminster Abbey. 



ABBOTT LAWRENCE LOWELL 
Lowell, Abbott Lawrence, twenty-fourth 
President of Harvard University, was bom in 
Boston, Mass., December 13, 1856, son of 
Augustus and Katherine Bigelow (Lawrence) 
Lowell. He was graduated at Harv^ard Uni- 
versity in the class of 1877. He was especially 
proficient in mathematics, and also distinguished 
himself in athletics, having won on one occasion 
both the mile and three-mile race in the same 
afternoon. After two years at Harvard Law 
School and one year in the law office of Messrs. 
Russell and Putnam of Boston, he received the 



BIOGRAPHIES 



223 



degree of LL.B. in 1880. He was immediately 
admitted to the Bar, and for seventeen years 
practised law in partnership with his kinsman 
Francis Cabot Lowell; Frederick Jesup Stimson 
being a member of the firm during the last six 
years. Retiring from the bar in 1897, he became 
lecturer at Harvard University, and two years 
later was appointed professor of the science of 
government. He filled this chair so acceptably, 
and displayed such qualities of business ability, 
tact and executive force, that, when President 
Eliot resigned in 1909, he was selected by the 




ABBOTT LAWREiNXE LOWELL 

corporation to succeed him. In his inaugural 
address on October 6, 1909, President Lowell 
said: "A discussion of the ideal college training 
would apparently lead to the conclusion that 
the best type of liberal education in our complex 
modern world aims at producing men who know 
a little of everything and something well." 
Soon after taking office, he introduced a radical 
change in Harvard's elective system by aban- 
doning the plan of unlimited electives, and pro- 
\'iding for a considerable amount of work by 
the student in some one field, and the general 
distribution of other subjects under the direc- 
tion and ad\'ice of the faculty. His writings 



have won him international recognition as one 
of the few high authorities on the history and 
science of government in the English-speaking 
world. They are: "Transfer of Stock in Cor- 
porations," in collaboration with Judge Francis 
C. Lowell (1884); "Essays on Government" 
(1889), "Governments and Parties in Conti- 
nental Europe" (1896), "Colonial Civil Ser- 
vice," in collaboration with Prof. H. Morse 
Stevens (1900); "The Influence of Party upon 
Legislation in England and America" (1902), 
and "The Government of England" (1908). 
From the moment President Lowell began his 
teaching at Har\'ard he impressed both students 
and colleagues with his forceful personality. 
His elementary course in government was con- 
sidered the most stimulating line of instruction, 
as well as the most popular, given to under- 
graduates. He was at one time a member of 
the Boston School Committee and of the execu- 
ti\'e committee of the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, and is now a member of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society, the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Phi 
Beta Kappa Fraternity. President Lowell has 
been trustee of the Lowell Institute of Boston 
since 1900. In that capacity he has the full 
financial management of the trust, selects the 
lecturers and in all ways carries on the affairs 
of the Institute in the service of public education. 
He was married, June 19, 1879, to Anna Parker, 
daughter of George G. Lowell of Boston, and 
a descendant of Judge John Lowell. 



JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL 
Lowell, James Russell, son of Rev. Charles 
Lowell, D.D., and Harriet, daughter of Robert 
T. Spence of Portsmouth, N.H., was bom in 
Elmwood, Phinouth County, Mass., February 
22, 1819. Perhaps no family in the Common- 
wealth has attained greater distinction in both 
the republic of letters and beneficent public 
service. The first American ancestor was Perci- 
val Lowell, who came from Bristol, England, 
settling in Newbury, Alass., in 1639. 

The greatgrandfather of the poet was Rev. 
John Lowell, minister of Newburyport, num- 
bered by historians among the special nota- 
bilities of the American jnilpit. His grandfather, 
Hon. John Lowell (Chief-Justice of the Court of 



224 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Appeals, and Umted States District Judge) was 
a poet of ability, but is chiefly remembered for 
philanthropic action as a member of the con- 
vention which framed the constitution of Massa- 
chusetts, as he introduced the clause which 
effected the abolition of slavery in the State. 
John Lowell, LL.D., uncle of James Russell, 
was a noted writer on politics, theology, eco- 
nomics, agriculture, etc. 

To Francis Cabot Lowell, brother of John 
Lowell, is to be attributed the introduction of 
the cotton manufacture into the United States, 
at Waltham, and the founding of the city of 
Lowell, which was named for him. To his son, 
John Lowell, Jr., is due the gratitude of a Com- 
monwealth for his founding of the Lowell Insti- 
tute of Boston, where he was bom May 11, 1799. 
Robert Traill Spence Lowell, brother of the 
poet is remembered as having, with other mem- 
bers of the family, achieved literary celebrity; 
but to none of them has come such versatile 
and vigorous power as to the poet himself — 
power loyally used for the good of his country, 
as well as universal man. 

James Russell Lowell was graduated from 
Harvard College in the class of 1838. He read 
law in the law department of Harvard Uni- 
versity, was admitted to the bar in 1840, and 
opened an office in Boston. But love of letters 
was stronger than ambition for legal rewards. 
He soon left the profession he had chosen, for 
the opportunity and leistu-e of indulging his 
tastes in realms more congenial. 

His first collection of poems, "A Year's Life" 
(1841) was severely criticised, though the genius 
slimibering was noticed by Judge Story, who 
wrote kindly of it at the time. In January, 
1843, he with a co-partner issued "The Pioneer, 
A Literary and Critical Magazine," Boston. 
This was not a financial success. The years 
following were spent in giving to the world his 
inimitable prose sketches, his poems, that one 
after another took the literary world by storm, 
his contributions to the leading magazines of 
the world, his editions of the poems of Keats, 
Wordsworth, Shelly and Marvell, in the "British 
Poets" series, and in his extensive foreign 
travels. 

The works of the "poet laureate" are too 
well known to require scheduled citation. His 
name is too familiar, and his public record too 



thoroughly engrafted into the national life to 
need other than a brief mention. 

In 1844 Mr. Lowell was married to Maria, 
daughter of Abijah and Anna Maria (Howard) 
White. Her death, at Cambridge, elicited one 
of Longfellow's most exquisite compositions: 
"Two Angels." In 1857 he was married to 
his second wife, Frances Dunlap, niece of Ex- 
Governor Dunlap of Portland, Me. She died 
in England, February, 1885. Of the four chil- 
dren by the first marriage, only one survives — 
Mabel, wife of Edward Burnett. 

In 1887, Mr. Lowell was appointed by Presi- 
dent Hayes to represent the national govern- 
ment at the court of Spain, from which in 1880 
he was transferred to the court of St. James. 
His administration of the delicate and respon- 
sible duties of his high mission in London was 
characterized by tact, marked ability, and was 
a most pronounced diplomatic and social suc- 
cess. During his residence in England he was 
chosen rector of the university of St. Andrew. 
Mr. Lowell died in 1891. 



JOHN J. MAHONEY 
Mahoney, John J., assistant superintendent 
of schools, was born in Lawrence, Mass., Decem- 




J0H.\" J. M.\HO\EY 



BIOGRAPHIES 



225 



ber 2, 1880. His early education was received 
in St. Mary's Parochial School. From this 
school, in 1896, he entered Phillips Andover 
Academy, where for three years he led his class, 
graduating in 1899, with several prizes to his 
credit for special excellence in Latin and Greek. 

Mr. Mahoney's course at Harvard (1899- 
1903) was a brilliant one. He excelled both in 
scholarship and as a debater, and graduated, a 
Phi Beta Kappa man, ver>' near the head of a 
large class. His first teaching, immediately 
on lea\'ing college, was in the LawTence High 
School, where he ser\'ed one year. From 1904 
to 1912 he was a successful grammar school 
master. During the same time he directed the 
evening school system of Lawrence, one of the 
largest, proportionately, in the country, and 
did some valuable pioneer work along the lines 
of the education of the immigrant. In the 
summer of 1912, he was elected Assistant Super- 
intendent of Schools in Cambridge. 

Mr. Mahoney is known as an educational 
lecturer and writer. In 1906 he was sent 
abroad under the auspices of the National Civic 
Federation, to study the schools of the British 
Isles. 



CHARLES JOHN McINTIRE 
McIxTiRE, Charles John, "First Judge of 
the Probate Court and the Court of Insolvency 
for Middlesex County," son of Ebenezer and 
Amelia Augustine (Landais) Mclntire, was 
bom in Cambridge. Through his mother he 
is seventh in descent from John Talcot, who 
came over with the Rev. Thomas Hooker's 
Braintree company in 1G32, built his residence 
upon Brattle Street, was one of the first board 
of selectmen, a deputy in lG.34-16.36, and in 
1637 accompanied Hooker to Hartford, and 
became a prominent figure in the Connecticut 
Colony. Both of Judge Mclntire's parents 
have the distinction of being lineally descended 
from original settlers of Cambridge ; his mother 
from John Talcot, and his father from Nathaniel 
Sparhawk, John Cooper and Walter Hastings. 
On his paternal side Judge Mclntire is also the 
sixth in descent from Philip Mackintire, who 
came a youth from Scotland about 1650, 
settled at Reading, Mass., became a freeholder 
in that town before 1G66, and died there in 1720. 



While yet a student in Cambridge, in 
1862, Mr. Mclntire enlisted as a private in the 
Forty-fourth Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers. He took part in all the engagements 
of his regiment, including the famous defense 
of the besieged town of Washington, N.C., 
and returned to his law studies when his term 
of service had expired. At the age of twenty- 
three years he was admitted to the Bar by the 
Supreme Judicial Court, and soon built up a 
good practice. From 1871 to 1874, he was 



"1 


1 , >T^^^; 


4 









CH.\RLES JOH.X McI.NTIRE 

the Assistant District Attorney of Middlesex; 
and when Judge Hammond was appointed to 
the Bench of the Superior Court, in March, 1886, 
Mr. Mclntire was elected by the City Council 
to fill the position of City Solicitor. He per- 
formed the work of that office so satisfactorily 
that he was annually re-elected, always by 
unanimous votes, until, on October 26, 1893, 
Governor Russell appointed him to his present 
position on the Bench, to fill the vacancy caused 
by the death of Judge George M. Brooks. On 
September 1, 1894, by legislative enactment, 
he became "First Judge" of the two courts. 
Previously, in 1893, he had been appointed by 



226 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Governor Russell a member of the state com- 
mission which revised and codified the election 
laws. He was early prominent in municipal 
affairs, serving in the common council in 1866 
and 1867; in the board of aldermen in 1877; 
was three years on the school board (1868- 
1870), and in 1883, was the "Temple Hall," or 
"Pay-as-you-go" candidate for mayor. Mr. 
Mclntire was a member of the special committee 
which framed the new city charter, of 1891, 
and afterwards he revised the ordinances to 
conform thereto. In 1869 and 1870 he was 
elected to the Legislature, and was chairman 
of the committee on insurance, and secretary 
of judiciary. He was one of the founders, 
and was vice-president of the Colonial Club, 
also president of the Cambridge Club ; a mem- 
ber of the Society of Colonial Wars, of which 
he has been deputy governor; of the Sons of 
the Revolution; of Post 57, G.A.R.; and of 
the Forty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment 
Association, whose president he was in 1883. 
In politics he is a Cleveland Democrat. Judge 
Mclntire, during his practice at the Bar was 
engaged in many important causes; among the 
most notable were the Miller's River nuisance 
cases, which he prosecuted to a successful 
termination against large odds. While city 
solicitor he gained reputation by the success 
of his efforts in preventing the Boston and 
Albany Railroad and the railroad commis- 
sioners, from enforcing an order upon the city 
to build and maintain an iron overhead bridge 
at Front Street, above the tracks of the rail- 
road, which would obstruct the view of the 
river. The Supreme Court imequivocally in- 
dorsed his position of opposition and overruled 
the order of the railroad commissioners, thus 
saving Harvard Bridge and Massachusetts 
Avenue as a beautiful approach to the city. 
The absolute grant of Fresh Pond by the 
Commonwealth to our city was also secured 
by the efforts of Judge Mclntire. He was 
likewise most fortunate in defeating the efforts 
of many owners to obtain excessive damages 
for the taking of land, ice-cutting privileges 
and water rights along the shores of Fresh 
Pond, Charles River and Stony Brook. His 
appointment to the Bench, as successor to the 
lamented Judge Brooks, was almost unani- 
mously urged by the Bar of Middlesex and by 



the leading members of the Bar of Suffolk. 
His wife is Mary Theresa, and their children 
are Mary Amelia, Henrietta Elizabeth, Charles 
Ebenezer, Frederick May, and Blanche Eugenie. 
He has lived in Cambridge from his birth, his 
present residence being situated on the south 
comer of Chauncy Street and Massachusetts 
Avenue. 



ALEXANDER McKENZIE, D.D. 

McKexzie, Alexander, D.D., for forty-four 
years pastor of the First Church (now better 
known as the Shepard Memorial Church), is 
widely known as a preacher and lecturer. For 
a long time he had among his hearers a 
larger body of college men than any preacher 
in Cambridge, outside the college chapel, and 
has served for several years as college preacher. 
He was also a lecturer at Harvard and the 
Andover Theological Seminary. Dr. McKenzie 
was bom in New Bedford, December 1-4, 1830, 
and is the son of Daniel and Phebe McKenzie. 
He fitted for college at Phillips Andover 
Academy, and was graduated from Harvard 
in the class of 1859. He afterwards prepared 
for the ministry at Andover Theological Semi- 
nary, was ordained August 28, 1861, and held 
the pastorate of a church in Augusta, Me., until 
1867. He was installed as pastor of the First 
Church in 1867. 

He was a member of the board of overseers of 
Harvard College and a trustee of Andover 
Seminary. In 1879 he received the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity from Amherst. 

He has published several books, among them 
being "The Two Boys," "History of First 
Church," and "Cambridge Sermons." The 
relations between First Church and Harvard 
College go back to the foundation of both in 
1636, the church on February 1st, the college on 
October 28th. The church has always been in 
close touch with the University, and from the 
"soul-stirring" Thomas Shepard down to Dr. 
McKenzie, and in no case to a greater degree 
than under his ministry, the pastors have 
greatly influenced Harvard thought and life. 
Dr. McKenzie married, January 25, 1865, 
Ellen H. Welch, of Fitchburg. He resigned 
his pastorate in 1910. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



227 



SAMUEL LELAND xMONTAGUE 
Montague, Samuel Leland, son of Simeon 
and Sybil (Leland) Montague, was bom May 4, 
1S29, in Montague, Mass. He resided there 
and in North Leverett, until 1837, when he 
removed with his parents to Michigan, about 
twenty miles west of the city of Jackson. In 
the fall of 1839 he returned with his family 
to Massachusetts, and lived in Hopkinton, 
Westboro and Ashland, upon farms. He 




SA.MUEL LELAXD MO.XTAGUE 

was educated in the common schools, the 
Academy at Hopkinton and the Baptist 
Academy at Worcester. In 184(3 he went to 
Boston, and entered the West India goods 
store, comer of Pearl and Purchase Streets, 
as clerk. In 1854 he commenced business as 
Haskins & Montague. The firm's trade gradu- 
ally grew into a commission business in cotton, 
hides and other southern products. He resided 
in Boston from 1846 to 1855; then at Allston 
until 1859; then moved to Cambridge. He 
was a member of Mizpah Lodge of Masons, 
and was Master of the Lodge in 1876-1877; 
member of Cambridge Royal Arch Chapter, 
Boston Council R. and S. Masters, and De 



Molay Commandery of Knight Templars; was 
a member of the Cambridge, Middlesex, Union 
and Universalist Clubs, of the New England 
Historic and Genealogical Society. He was 
one of the trustees of the Cambridge public 
library, and was chairman of the board nearly 
ten years. He was appointed, by the civil 
service commissioners of Massachusetts, one 
of the board of examiners for the city of 
Cambridge, and chairman of the board. He 
served six years in the cit}^ government of 
Cambridge, 1873-1874 in the common council, 
1875-1876 in the board of aldermen, and served 
as mayor in 1878 and 1879. In 1877 he was 
elected one of the commissioners of the sinking 
fund of the city, and he resigned on being 
elected Mayor. The partnership of Haskins & 
Montague continued thirty-two years, when, 
in 1886, it was dissolved, to enable him to 
accept the position of treasurer and manager 
of two corporations in the state of Maine, in 
which the firm was interested. In 1891, his 
health failing, he resigned the active duties 
of his office, and was elected president of both 
corporations. In 1894 he was elected one of 
the principal assessors of the city of Cambridge. 
Mr. Montague died January 16, 1897, being 
survived by a son and a daughter. Charles H. 
Montague, his son, is a well-known real estate 
operator. 



ASA PORTER MORSE 
Morse, Asa Porter, son of Daniel and 
Sarah (Webster Morse) Morse, was bom in 
Haverhill, Grafton County, N.H., September 1, 
1818. He was educated in the district schools 
of that town, and at Haverhill Academy. He 
is a lineal descendant in the seventh generation 
from Anthony Morse, who came from Marl- 
borough, Wiltshire, England, and settled in 
Newbury, in 1635. He has also other Puritan 
ancestors, one of whom was Thomas Webster 
of Hampton, N.H., through his mother. She 
was bom at Bascanen, N.H., and was a second 
cousin of Daniel Webster, the statesman. 
Mr. Morse's brother. Rev. H. W. Morse, who 
died at Greenwood, was given his grandmother's 
family name, Webster. 

Mr. Morse spent one year in a dry goods 
store in Holden, Mass., and came to Boston 



228 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



in 1840, and began business life as bookkeeper 
in the house of Hayward & Morse, who were 
engaged in the Provincial and West India trade. 
He soon commenced business in that line on 
his own account, employing a large force of 
men, and was eminently successful. 

Mr. Morse was married July 13, 1845, to 
Dorcas Louisa, bom August 28, 1822 and died 
February 24, 18G4, daughter of Thomas Wise 
and Elizabeth White Short, and they moved to 
Cambridgeport, where he resided up to the 
time of his death, which occurred March 18th, 
1906. Shortly after taking up his residence 
in Cambridge, he became interested in real 
estate operations, and was for a long time an 
extensive builder. He was for some time con- 
nected with the Cambridge Fire Insurance 
Company, as director; the Cambridge Hospital 
as trustee, and other charitable institutions, 
and for about thirty-five years director of the 
Cambridgeport National Bank, and for a 
number of years its president; also vice-presi- 
dent of the Cambridgeport Savings Bank. He 
was for sixteen years a member of the school 
board, was alderman in 1866, and a member 
of the legislature in 1869, and in 1872 he was 
again elected. He declined re-election. The 
Republicans of the "Third Middlesex Senato- 
rial District," in the campaign of 1878, selected 
Mr. Morse as the candidate for senator, and he 
was elected by a handsome majority. The bill 
for the establishment of a reformity for men, 
which resulted in the establishment of the 
Concord Reformatory, passed the Senate 
largely through the efforts of Mr. Morse. He 
was re-elected to the Senate of 1880 by a large 
majority. He was again placed at the head 
of the committee on prisons, and also on the 
committee on education and expenditures. 
He was a life member of the " New England 
Historic Genealogical Society," and also life 
member of the "Webster Historical Society." 

Mr. Morse's children were Mary Louisa, who 
married Charles Willis Jones, formerly presi- 
dent of the New England National Bank of 
Boston, Mass.; Velma Maria and Arthur 
Porter (deceased). 



W. and Hannah F. (Adams) Munroe, who 
were also bom in the University town. He 
was educated in the Cambridge schools and 
at Harvard, graduating in the Class of 1864. 
He was in the Law School during 1866 and 
1867, and entered the office of Chandler, 
Shattuck & Thayer, Boston. He was admitted 
to the Suffolk Bar in 1868, and subsequently 
became a member of the Bar of the United States 




WILLIAM ADAMS MUNROE 
MuNROE, William Adams, was bom in Cam- 
bridge, November 9, 1843, the son of William 



WILLIAM ADAMS MUNROE 

Supreme Court. He began practice in 1869, 
and in February', 1870, formed a partner- 
ship with George O. Shattuck of the old firm, 
which had been dissolved. Judge Oliver Wen- 
dell Holmes was a partner from 1873 until his 
appointment to the Bench in 1882, the firm 
name being Shattuck, Holmes & Munroe. Mr. 
Munroe was never active politically, but always 
took a keen interest in the educational and 
social development of the city. He was for 
several years a prominent member of the 
School Board; was one of the commission to 
revise the City Charter in 1890; was president 
of the Cambridge Club in 1890; and a member 
and one of the incorporators of the Cambridge 
Club, and a trustee of the Avon Home. He 
was an active member of the First Baptist 
Church, and prominent in the denomination, 




Asa p. ^Iorse 



BIOGRAPHIES 



229 



having been president of the Boston Baptist 
Social Union in 1882. He was a trustee of the 
Newton Theological Seminary. Mr. Munroe 
was married, November 22, 1871, to Sarah D. 
Whiting, of Salem. 

Mr. Munroe died August 26, 1905, being 
survived by his wife, and his daughter, Helen 
W. Munroe. 



JAMES JEFFERSON MYERS 

Myers, James Jefferson, lawyer, was bom 
at Frewsburg, N.Y., November 20, 1842, the 
son of Robert and Sabra (Tracy) Myers. He 
prepared for college at Western, N.Y. He 
graduated from Harvard in 1869, with the degree 
of A.B., receiving his A.M. later. He studied 
at the Harvard Law School, and was given his 
LL.B. in 1872. After a year in Europe he spent 
another in a New York law office. 

In the fall of 1874, having been admitted to 
the Suffolk Bar, Mr. Myers, with Mr. J. B. 
Warner of Cambridge, formed the firm of Myers 
& Warner, and has since practised law continu- 
ously in Boston. 

From 1893 to 1903 he represented Cambridge 
in the Legislature, and was Speaker of the House 
from 1900 to 1903. He has taken a lively inter- 
est in matters of education and good govern- 
ment. He has served as president of the Library 
Hall Association of Cambridge, and was treas- 
urer of the Citizens' Committee, which raised 
the funds for the Public Library. 

Mr. Myers is a director of the Cambridge 
Trust Company, the Walworth Manufacturing 
Company, and various other similar enter- 
prises. He is a member of the American Bar 
Association, the Civil Service Reform Associa- 
tion, the Economic Club of Boston, the Prospect 
Union, the Cambridge Historical Society, and 
numerous clubs. His home is in Cambridge. 



Dr. J. T. G. NICHOLS 
Nichols, J. T. G., Dr., for many years a 
resident of Cambridge and particularly well 
known as president of the Cambridge Savings 
Bank, was born in Portland, Me., in 1837, and 
died August 26, 1911, at his summer home, 
Boar's Head, N.H. 

He attended Harvard College and the Law- 



rence Scientific School, and received his M.D. 
degree. The outbreak of the Civil War, 
soon after, led to his appointment as a 
siu-geon in the Northern Army ; and later in the 
struggle he was a member of one of the un- 
attached companies in this State. He was at 
one time a member of John A. Logan Post 186, 
G.A.R., but resigned his membership some 
years ago. 




Dr. j. T. O. NICHOLS 

Dr. Nichols was one of the best-known and 
most skilled practitioners in Cambridge, and 
his fame, gained from a practice here of more 
than sixty years, spread far beyond the borders 
of the city. At the Cambridge Hospital, too, 
he had an excellent record. When the hospital 
was opened, he became one of the visiting 
physicians and he continued to hold this posi- 
tion until he resigned, owing to his age. There- 
upon he became one of the consulting physicians, 
in which capacity he continued until his death. 

Apart from his professional life, Dr. Nichols 
was perhaps best known through his connection 
with the Cambridge Savings Bank, to which 
he gave freely of his business acumen. He had 
been connected with the Bank for more than 
thirty-seven years, for it was on February 11, 
1874, that he was chosen a member of the cor- 
poration. Two years later, February 9, 1876, 
he was elected a trustee. 



230 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



On the death of president Charles W. Sever, 
Dr. Nichols was, on July 7, 1904, elected vice- 
president of the Bank; and he also served as 
acting president until February 8 of the follow- 
ing year, when he was chosen president, holding 
this office until his resignation on June 19, 
1911. 

Dr. Nichols was a member of the Massachu- 
setts Medical Society; the Cambridge Society 
for Medical Improvement; the Boston Society 
of the same name ; the Harvard Medical Alumni 
Association and the Boston Medical Library. 
He was also a member of the First Parish Church, 
and for many years had served as chairman of 
its standing committee. 

Dr. Nichols is survived by his widow. His 
two sons are Henry A. Nichols, receiving teller 
at the Cambridge Savings Bank, and J. T. G. 
Nichols, Jr., of Newburyport. 



JOHN NOLEN 

NoLEN, John, landscape architect, city plan- 
ner, civic lecturer, writer, observant traveler 
in old worlds and new, is, in the thoughts of 
many, now occupying the desirable position in 
public estimation which those who knew best 
the lamented Charles Eliot, son of Ex-President 
Eliot, expected him one day to have. 

Mr. Nolen's career has been unusual. He was 
bom in 1869, was graduated in 1893 from the 
University of Pennsylvania, studied at Oxford, 
Munich and Harvard, which gave him its A.M. 
in 1905. 

Practice and theory have found in his life 
the blending which invariably spells out success. 
Before college he had a fruitful business career; 
after college — in fact, till 1903 — he combined 
lecturing and administrative work for the Uni- 
versity Extension Society in Philadelphia. He 
thus became a fluent and effective speaker, and 
at the same time learned to organize men, direct 
activities, and deal with multitudinous details. 
He acquired the art of influencing minds in the 
mass and also one by one. He developed the 
habit, whether in a crowd or in the quiet of an 
office conversation, of stating unwholesome 
truth without dilution and also without hurt 
to the most sensiti\-e. When as city planner 
or re-planner he is to speak about the city's 
needs before the citizens en masse, he makes 



his diagnosis as carefully as any doctor called 
to a sickbed, and then reports exactly what he 
finds. 

Mr. Nolen has written many articles, pub- 
lished many reports, given many addresses, and 
advised in the formation of many organizations 
for the betterment and beautifying of our cities. 
His attitude toward practically every civic prob- 
lem with which he has had to deal, is clearly 
indicated in his latest book, " Replanning Small 




JOHN NOLEN 

Cities," perhaps the most important single 
contribution to city improvement literature 
ever made by an American. In reading it one 
sees that Mr. Nolen always has in mind in his 
writing and work the three essentials: (1) The 
influence of comprehensive city planning on 
the civic spirit; (2) the relationship of the 
specific plan to better housing, proper schooling, 
well-planned playgrounds, spacious parks, grade 
crossings, waterfronts, a true wage-system, 
and better living; (3) and the urgent necessity 
that American cities, like Diisseldorf and other 
German cities, should be able to borrow large 
sums to make their plans effective. 

As one reads the list of Mr. Nolen's activities, 
creations and publications, most of which belong 



BIOGRAPHIES 



231 



within the last decade, one is amazed at both 
the quality and quantity of his good work. 
Fellow of the American Society of Landscape 
Architects, first vice-president of the American 
Civic Association, member of the Executive 
Board of the National Conference on City 
Planning and of the Boston Metropolitan Plan 
Commission, and of such clubs as the Boston 
City Club, the New York Harvard Club, and 
the Appalachian Mountain Club, Mr. Nolen 
has been counsellor to more than a score of 
representative American cities, many more 
educational and philanthropic institutions and 
private estates, and official landscape architect 
to such municipalities as Madison, Wis., Mont- 
clair, N.J., Reading, Pa., Roanoke, Va., San 
Diego, Cal., New London, Conn., Savannah, Ga., 
and Schenectady, N.Y. In Massachusetts alone 
ten cities are the better and the fairer for his touch. 

It is evermore the man behind the guns that 
wins the victory. Back of all of Mr. Nolen's 
intelligent, artistic and amazingly abundant 
work is a simple, quiet, tactful, friendly but 
extremely forceful personality, gathering in- 
spiration all along the way of life, from chance 
acquaintances, from friends whose name is 
legion, and most of all from a happy home made 
possible by his marriage in 1896 to Miss Barbara 
Schatte of Philadelphia. 

Mr. Nolen lives in Cambridge, but his main 
professional fields have been South and West. 
His strong preference for public work has been 
expressed oftenest perhaps in the case of the 
small city, sometimes regardless of compensa- 
tion. He has kept the standard of his com- 
paratively new profession ever far ahead of 
mediocrity and mercenan,' interests, and his 
motto ever is "The beautiful is as useful as the 
usefxd." 



FORRIS W. NORRIS 

NoRRis, FoRRis W., real estate operator, 
was born at Dunkin, Quebec, June 25, 1885, 
being the son of Anson O. and Emma A. Norris. 
His early education was received in the district 
schools of Canada, and he afterwards attended 
North Troy Academy, North Troy, Vt. 

At the age of twenty he became associated 
with Mr. G. A. Giles in the real estate business. 
He was so successful that about four vears later 



he opened an office for himself. Since that time 
Mr. Norris has been one of the men most active 
in furthering the growth of Cambridge. The 
the remarkable industrial development of the 
city in recent years is in no small measure due 
to his energy and enterprise. It was he who 
organized the Riverbank Trust, and he has been 
identified with numerous other similar projects. 




FORRIS W. .\0RRIS 

Mr. Norris is at present a director of the 
Guaranty Trust Company, director and treas- 
urer of the Cambridge Realty Company, trustee 
of the Riverbank Trust, a member of the Cam- 
bridge Board of Trade and the Massachusetts 
Real Estate Exchange. He also belongs to the 
Cambridge Lodge of Elks. In politics he is a 
Republican, and served in the Common Council 
for three years— 1909, 1910 and 1911. Mr. 
Norris's religious aflSliations are with the Protes- 
tant Church. 

Mr. Norris was married to Bessie E. Griffin 
on March 7, 1907. They have two sons — 
Forris W. Norris, Jr., and Jackson Morton 
Norris. 



CHARLES ELIOT NORTON 
Norton, Charles Eliot, was bom in Cam- 
bridge, November 16, 1827, and graduated in 
1846 from Harvard University, which three 



232 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



years later conferred upon him the degree of 
A.M. Subsequent honors were given him by 
Cambridge University, England, which gave 
him the degree of Litt.D., in 1884; Columbia, 
L.H.D., in 1885; Harvard, LL.D., in 1887, and 
Yale in 1901; Oxford, D.C.L., in 1900. He 
went to India when twenty-two years old, and 
then came home through Europe. 

In 1855 he made a second visit to Europe, 
and remained there two years. 




CHARLES ELIOT NORTON 

During the Civil War he edited at Boston the 
papers issued by the Loyal Publication Society, 
and from 1864 to 1868 he was associated with 
James Russell Lowell in editing the North 
American Review. 

Before this, in 1857, Longfellow told Norton 
of his ambition to write in poetic form a trans- 
lation of Dante's "Divina Commedia," and 
turned to him for aid in the work. The work 
progressed, Longfellow being assisted by Norton 
and Lowell, and from frequent conferences 
grew the Dante Club, with Norton as president. 

Professor Norton was a university lecturer 
at Harvard in 1863-1864 and 1874-1875. In 
1875 was he appointed professor of the history 
of art; he resigned in 1898, being retained as 
professor emeritus. 

He was first president of the American In- 
stitute of Archaeology founded in 1879; first 
president of the Arts and Crafts Society ; mem- 



ber of the Massachusetts Historical Society; 
fellow of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences; member of the Imperial German 
Archaeological Society and was for some time 
president of the Harvard Musical Association. 

Professor Norton published a prose trans- 
lation of Dante's "Divine Comedy," "Consid- 
eration of Some Recent Social Theories," "His- 
torical Studies of Church Building in the Middle 
Ages" and "Notes of Travel and Study in 
Italy"; contributed to an American edition of 
Scott; edited the letters of Goethe, the poems 
of Arthur Hugh Clough and John Downe, the 
philosophical discussions of Chauncy Wright 
and several other works. 

Professor Norton's wife, to whom he was 
married in 1862, died ten years later, in Ger- 
many. His three sons and three daughters are 
living. Professor Norton died October 21, 
1908, at Cambridge. 



EDMUND MORLEY PARKER 
Parker, Edmund Morley, counsellor at 
law, was bom in Cambridge on August 15, 
1856, being the son of Joel and Mary (Morse) 
Parker. His father was Chief- Justice of New 
Hampshire and Royall Professor of Law at 
Harvard Law School. Edmund M. Parker, 




EDMUND MORLEY PARKER 



BI0GR2\PHIES 



233 



after recei\-inK his early education in private 
schools, attended the Reading I-HkIi School 
(1869-1870) and the CambridKC High School 
(1870-1873). He pjaduated from Har\'ard 
College in 1877 with the decree of A.B., traveled 
and studied in Europe (1877-1879), and was 
pivcn his decree of LL.B. by Harvard Law 
School in 1882. 

Mr. Parker was admitted to the Suffolk Bar 
in 1882, and has engaged in the practice of law 
ever since, acting as trustee of many real estate 
trusts and various private estates. In 1890 
and 1891 he served on the commission that 
revised the Cambridge Charter, and in 1903 and 
1904, was Chairman of the special commission 
on the law of eminent domain in the State of 
Massachusetts. From 1905 to 1910 he lectured 
at Harv-ard College on comparative adminis- 
trative law. 

Mr. Parker is a member of the Union and the 
Exchange Club of Boston, the Oakley Country' 
Club, the Jamestown Golf and Country' Club, 
the Conanicut Yacht Club, and others. 

He was married to Miss Alice Graj^ on Ajiril 
8, 1891. 



LEWIS PARKHURST 
Parkhurst, Lewis, a native of Dunstable, 
Mass., was bom July 26, 1856, being the son 
of the late Thomas H. and Sarah Newton 
(Wright) Parkhurst. His father was a farmer 
and lumberman, noted for honesty, good judg- 
ment and a happy disposition. Joel Parkhurst, 
an ancestor, was a Lieutenant in the War of the 
Revolution. His immigrant ancestor, George 
Parkhurst, was bom in Guilford, England, and 
settled in Watertown, Mass., where he died in 
1648. 

Lewis Parkhurst was obliged to begin a life 
of hard work when eleven years of age, by labor- 
ing on a farm at eight dollars a month and his 
board, and although his parents did what they 
could to help him get an education, he had 
mainly to work his way through the academy 
and college, aided by a friendly loan of five 
hundred dollars, which he repaid during his 
first year after graduation. His preparatory 
study was at the Green Mountain Academy in 
South Woodstock, Vt., and he was graduated 
from Dartmouth College in 1878, receiving the 



degree of A.M. from the same institution in 
1908. His eminent success in life was largely 
aided by the influences and associations of his 
years in school and college, and continued con- 
tact with the men with whom he formed friend- 
ships in those days. He scr\'cd successively as 
principal of the grammar school in Fitchburg, 
and of the high schools in Athol and Winchester. 
In 1886 he entered into the emploj-ment of 
Ginn and Company, publishers of school and 
college te.\t-books, and became a member of 
the same fimi in 1889, and its business manager. 
In 1897 Mr. Parkhurst built and has since 
managed the Athenaeum Press, of Cambridge. 
He organized and was first president of the 
Middlesex County Bank, in Winchester, Massa- 
chusetts, and for many years was a trustee of 
the Winchester SaWngs Bank. In the same 
locahty he ser\-ed for seven years on the Water 
Board, was a member of the School Committee, 
and a trustee of the Public Library'. He was 
chairman of the committee that built the Win- 
chester High School building, and held the same 
position on the building committee of the Win- 
chester Unitarian Church, with which he was 
affiliated. In 1908 Mr. Parkhurst was elected 
as a member of the Massachusetts House of 
Representatives; and served as a member of 
the Railroad committee; and in that same year 
was made a trustee of Dartmouth College, and 
president of the Dartmouth Alumni As-^oriaiion 
in Boston. 

While at college Mr. Parkhurst was a member 
of the Greek fratcmity known as " Delta Kappa 
Epsilon," and now belongs to the University 
Club of Boston. He is a member of the Chamber 
of Commerce, where he is chairman of its liliran,' 
committee. A loyal Republican, Mr. Park- 
hurst has seen no reason for changing his party 
allegiance. At inter\'als in his remarkably 
busy life he has found recreation in fishing, 
hunting, golf and traveling. He married in 
Weston, Vt., November 18, 1880, Emma, 
daughter of John and Sarah (Cragin) Wilder, 
whose ancestors lived at Hingham. Mass. Two 
children were bom of this marriage, one of whom 
now living is Richard Parkhurst, bom in 1894. 

No one can fail to pcrcci\'c, from c\'cn a brief 
sketch of such a career as that led liy Mr. Park- 
hurst, that his main aim all along has been to 
"do the duty next to him," whether as a boy 



234 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



on the farm, a lad at school, a student in college, 
a teacher, a trustee, a banker, a publisher, or 
a member of the legislature of his native state. 
He served with remarkable public spirit the 
town where his home is made, and rejoiced to 
make its buildings more commodious and its 
streets more attractive. People have trusted 
him with weighty responsibilities, and he has 
borne faithfully, evidently seeking as his best 
reward the satisfaction of knowing that by 
his diligence and intelligence others have been 
made happier, wiser and better. 



WILLIAM TAGGARD PIPER 
Piper, William Taggard, trustee, was born 
in Boston, Mass., August 9, 1853, son of Solomon 
and Mary EHzabeth (Taggard) Piper. His 
first American ancestor was Nathaniel Piper, 
who came from Devonshire, England; first 
definite date about 1653, and settled at Ipswich, 
Mass., before 1665, bought land in 1662. The 
line of descent is traced through his son Jona- 
than, who married Alice Darby ; their son Joseph 
who married Esther Wright, and their son 
Soloman who married Susannah Pratt and was 
the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. 
Mr. Piper attended the Boston public schools, 
including the Latin School, and was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1874, receiving the degrees 
of M.A. in 1881 and Ph.D. in 1883. During 
1875-1876 he attended Trinity College, Cam- 
bridge, England. He was a member of the 
Cambridge Common Council during 1888-1889, 
and Alderman during 1890. He had been a 
member of the School Committee since 1891, 
and president since 1892, retiring in 1909. The 
latter year he also became trustee of the Cam- 
bridge Public Library, and was president of 
that body during the years 1896-1903. 

Mr. Piper was director and secretary of the As- 
sociated Charities of Cambridge during 1881- 
1902, and since 1886 was trustee and president of 
the Avon Home for Children in Cambridge. He 
was also trustee of the Massachusetts Home- 
opathic Hospital and the Boston State Hospital; 
director of the Cambridge Trust Company; 
member of the New England Historic Gene- 
alogical Society (Councillor) during 1898-1901 
and 1904-1907; Colonial Society of Massa- 
chusetts; Bostonian Society; Cambridge Histor- 



ical Society; Unitarian Club; Cambridge Club 
(vice-president, 1906, president, 1907); Union 
Club of Boston and the Oakley Country Club. 
Mr. Piper was married at Yellow Springs, O., 
July 10, 1879, to Anne Palfrey, daughter of 
the Rev. William F. Bridge, Harvard, 1846. 
Mr. Piper died at his home in Cambridge, being 
survived by four children: William Bridge, 
Harvard, 1903; E. Elizabeth Bridge, Radcliffe, 
1906; Anne Taggard (now Mrs. Matthew Hale, 
Harvard, 1903); and Ralph Crosby Piper. 



DAVID PROUDFOOT 

Proudfoot, David, coal merchant, was bom 
in Cambridge on August 7, 1840. His parents 
were William and Jane Proudfoot. He at- 
tended the public schools of the city until he 
was sixteen years old, and then went to work 
on a farm. He afterwards obtained employ- 
ment with the Boston & Lowell Railroad. He 
was connected with this company for twenty- 
two years, and during the greater part of the 
time was ticket-master at the Boston terminus. 

In 1881 he decided to go into business for 
himself, and in August of that year prociired 
an office and wharves at East Cambridge for 
the retailing of coal. The venture proved suc- 
cessful, and Mr. Proudfoot had soon built up 
a large trade. He is still actively occupied in 
the management of the affairs of the concern of 
David Proudfoot and Company. 

Mr. Proudfoot was married on September 10, 
1866, to Augusta M. Smith of Hammond, St. 
Lawrence County, N.Y. He is a member of the 
Colonial Club, Putnam Lodge of Masons, Royal 
Arch Chapter and Cambridge Commander\% 
K.T., and has been treasurer of the last two 
organizations. He resides in Cambridge. 



FREDERICK B. PULLEX 

PuLLEN, Frederick B., chief of the police 
department of Cambridge, has served forty 
continuous years on the force. He was ap- 
pointed January 2, 1871, as a patrolman, 
during the administration of Mayor Harding, 
and since that time he has done duty in every 
part of the city. His ability and efficiency 
as a patrolman were soon manifested, and, in 



BIOGR.\PHIES 



235 



the fall of 1S}<0. he took the position of de- 
tective in the chief's office in place of Barret 
Jones, who had died. As a result of his ^'ood 
work in this position, Mayor Fox promoted 
him to a sergeant. Mayor Bancroft promoted 
him to a captaincy, made vacant by the death 




rRliUHRlCK U. I'CLLEN 

of Captain Thomas H. Lucy. As captain he 
serv'ed three years at Station 3, three years 
at Station 2, and one year at Station 1. 

During the time he was on the force, he 
always proved to be a faithful, energetic, and 
efficient officer, and he had on numerous occa- 
sions received the commendation of his superiors 
for his remarkable ability in the pcrfonnance 
of his duty. 

Chief Pullen sen-ed with distinction in the 
Ci\nl War. He enlisted in 1862, when but 
sixteen years old, joining the First Massachu- 
setts Regiment. He was in all the battles of 
the regiment in Louisiana, during the campaign 
of the Bay of Tcsche, under General Banks. 
He served in the Shenandoah camjjaign under 
Sheridan. He received his discharge May 20, 
1865, at Falls Church, Va. Chief Pullen' died 
in 1913. 



GEORGE J. RAYMOND 

Raymond, George J., son of Cadwallader 
M. and Judith A. (Squirors) Ra>Tnond, was 
bom in Woodstock, New Brunswick, July 31, 
1852. He attended school three months in 
his nati\-c town, and when eight years old went 
to work on a farm at Wicklow, New Brunswick. 
He remained there until he was seventeen years 
of age when he came to Boston and found cm- 
ploNTnent with S. S. Houghton. After several 
years' service with him, Mr. Raymond (1883) 
went into l)usino.ss for himself, and is now man- 
ager of The Ra\Tnond Syndicate, at 352 to 358 
Washington Street, Boston. A recounting of 
the struggles and efTorts of the young man from 
the period of his coming to Boston until the 
time when his name became known throughout 
the city would not be without interest. There 
is a peculiar fascination to the life of a man 
who succeeds in spite of apparent insurmount- 




GEORGE J. R.AVMOND 

able obstacles, and one takes a kind of personal 
glory in the achievements of another — a glad- 
to-know feeling that somebody has made good. 
That's the way one takes to Rajinond, par- 
ticularlv after vou have seen him. There is 



236 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



something peculiarl}' winning about his per- 
sonality. In repose, you are somehow impressed 
with the childlikeness of his manner. The 
impression that Raymond is a routing radical 
in his business or politics is an erroneous one. 
He has been shrewd and progressive, but his 
progressivcness has been bounded by conserva- 
tism. He has often said no man can succeed 
in business unless he is conservative, but the 
timid soul often fails to distinguish the differ- 
ence between careful venture and radicalism. 
His single-handed battle against the mercantile 
agencies in the courts and legislature is a matter 
of record-breaking, a feature of interest for 
several years in the public prints. Its results 
were ack-nowledged of great benefit to the 
business world in that some of the worst evils 
of these agencies were by his efforts greatly 
reformed. 

Like not a few other successful business men, 
Mr. Raymond takes keen delight in an entirely 
different occupation between times. Some few 
years ago he purchased a farm out Sudbury 
way, and has added to it until he now has a 
beautiful place of nearly 500 acres, on which 
he spends his summers. In fact, Mr. Raymond 
blushingly declares that his is the most beauti- 
fully located farm in all New England. 

Mr. RajTnond is a member of Mount Lebanon 
Lodge, A.F. and A.M.; of St. Paul's Royal 
Arch Chapter, and of De Molay Commandery, 
Knights Templar, all of Boston; of the Mystic 
Shrine, the Boston Lodge of Elks, the Royal 
Arcanum, the Tycoon Club, and Chamber of 
Commerce. He joined the Ancient and Honor- 
able Artillery Company in 1883. 



THOMAS LEIGHTON, JR. 

Leighton, Thomas, Jr., Register of Deeds, 
was bom in Cambridge, October 30, 1870, his 
parents being Thomas and M. Eliza (Stiles) 
Leighton. He acquired his education in the 
pubhc schools of this city. On August 11, 1885, 
he went to work at the Middlesex South Dis- 
trict Registry of Deeds as messenger under 
Charles O. Stevens, the then Register. When 
Edwin O. Childs became Register, Mr. Leighton 
was made Assistant, January 8, 1897. This 




THOMAS LEIGHTOX. JR. 

office he held until March 7, 1913, and on that 
date he received his appointment to fill out the 
unexpired term of Mr. Childs as Register. 



JOHN READ 

Read, John, a well-known resident of Cam- 
bridge, secured his elementary education in 
the public schools of the city, and was grad- 
uated at Harvard in the class of 1862. "When 
the nation needed men to defend its honor 
and life, it found him ready for its serv'ice 
He entered the United States nav\', and soon 
found what war meant. He served three years, 
and it was his fortune to be often where the 
fighting was fiercest, participating in ten different 
engagements. In April, 1863, he had the 
experience of the vessel which bore him going 
down, riddled with shot. It was the Keokuk 
turrcted iron-clad ram, which met its fate in 
making an attack on Charleston, S.C., being 
one of the fleet which was under the command 
of Admiral Dupont in that memorable contest. 
The engagement was a terrific one, the Keokuk 
receiving such a fire as up to that time had been 
almost unknown in naval warfare. She was 
at the head of the attacking fleet, and received 
the combined fire of all the forts in the harbor. 
In thirty minutes her armor was penetrated by 
nearly a hundred shots, and she sank. Mr. 
Read received honorable mention for his con- 
duct in this action. 



lilDC.RAPHIES 



237 



His next service was in the West Gulf Squad- 
ron. Here one expedition and engagement 
followed another, and he had his place in them 
all for many months; during the last two years 
of the war, his vessel taking part in many 
contests, and also doing blockade duty off the 
Louisiana and Texas coasts. He was in the 
battle of Sabine Pass, where the Union forces 



ment in rebel prisons. In May, 1864, during 
an engagement at Calcasien Pass, La., he was 
captured by the rebels. For eight months he 
was confined in the stockade prison-camps in 
Texas, suffering hardships and exposures so 
terrible that only thirty-two of the one hundred 
and eleven men who were captured in May 
were living when release came in December, 




JOHN RE.\U 



met with tlisaster and great slaughter. He 
also was in all the engagements of the occupa- 
tion of the Texas coast by General Washburn, 
.n the winter of 1863, and took part in the 
capture of Corpus Christi, Arkansas Pass and 
Matagorda. 

But an experience even more severe than 
that of battle awaited him, — that of imprison- 



exposure without shelter and insufficient food 
having ended the lives of seventy-nine of his 
comrades. This rate of mortality put the 
Texas swamp prison-camps among the worst 
in the entire South, equalling in their horror, 
the terrible records of Andorsonville and Libby. 
Only thirty-two sick and wasted men remained 
in the camp which had held seven hundred 



238 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



brave Union soldiers; and, as these were too 
sick to cook their own rations or care for them- 
selves, the Confederates closed the camp, and 
sent them to the Union lines. But for this 
the entire company would soon have been 
obliterated. In the whole war there was no 
greater suffering or larger percentage of mor- 
tality than in the Texas swamp prison-camps. 

In spite of all that he had suffered, he essayed 
to do further duty, and was assigned to the 
United States sloop of war Kearsarge, but the 
privations and suffering of his previous service 
had broken his health, and near the close of 
the war he resigned. 

Mr. Read is a member of Post No. 56, G.A.R. ; 
of the military order of the Loyal Legion of 
the United States; of the Kearsarge Naval 
Veterans; and of the Association of Survivors 
of Rebel Prisons. 

After his return from the war Mr. Read 
became a partner of William Read & Sons, 
but also found time for public service. He was 
a member of the common council in the years 
ISSO and 1881; of the board of aldermen in 
1882 and 1883; of the Massachusetts House 
of Representatives in 1888, and was promi- 
nently mentioned for speaker of the House; 
of the Massachusetts Senate in 1S92 and 1893. 

He was on important committees in the 
Legislature, being chairman of committees 
of military affairs, water supply, and federal 
relations, and also a member of banks and 
banking, education and prisons. As a legis- 
lator he has always been found on the right 
side of the great questions. He has been 
much interested in the improvement of the 
public service, and gave his support to the 
Australian ballot law. No temperance meas- 
ure failed to receive his vote. 

He was recognized by his fellow-members 
as a clear-headed, practical business man, 
with an excellent capacity for stating his views 
clearly and forcibly in the debates, in many 
of which he took part. The modification of 
the bill in relation to truant schools for Middle- 
sex County, so that small institutions may 
be established instead of one large one, was 
due quite largely to Mr. Read's management. 

He introduced and carried through the 
Senate the petition for authority to issue five 
hundred thousand dollars additional water 



bonds for Cambridge; also the petition for 
authority to make a loan for public parks, 
securing an amendment providing for the 
appointment of park commissioners. He also 
secured passage of an act for taking land in 
Belmont for a high service reservoir for Cam- 
bridge, in spite of strong opposition from 
Belmont. He also had charge of and was 
instrumental in passing the bill for the increase 
of the Massachusetts naval militia. This arm 
of the service was originally created by a bill 
presented by Mr. Read when he was in the 
Legislature in 1888. 

But his most important work was upon the 
annexation of Cambridge to Boston. There 
was in the Senate a combination of circum- 
stances which made it seem probable at one 
time that the decision might be adverse to 
Cambridge. The committee on cities recom- 
mended that the matter be "referred to the 
next General Court." Senator Read was not 
satisfied with this semi-approval, and was 
unwilling that the subject should lie open to 
the next Legislature to be again taken up, 
and therefore determined to kill it. His prin- 
cipal opponent was confident of success, having 
with him the committee on cities, backed by 
the advocates of annexation. Against both 
these elements he alone made the fight, with 
the motion that the whole question be "in- 
definitely postponed." After a long and hot 
debate Mr. Read carried the Senate in favor 
of this motion. A re-consideration was at- 
tempted at a later day by the advocates of 
annexation, but Senator Read again carried 
the day, and the proposition was thus killed 
and thrown out of the Legislature for good. 
These facts are mentioned as showing Mr. 
Read's ability as a legislator and his influence 
in the Senate. He has many times been urged 
to accept the candidacy for mayor of the city 
but declined. 

Mr. Read has always been a Republican 
in state and national politics. In city poli- 
tics he has been a hearty supporter of the 
Cambridge non-partisan methods of selecting 
officers. He is greatly interested in all public 
matters, and the spirit which prompted him 
to offer his life to the nation in the days of 
peril has never ceased to control him when there 
was opportunity to promote the public interest. 



HIoGRAPHIES 



239 



In the fiftieth annivcrsay Cambridge cele- 
bration, in 189(5, Mr. Read was chief marshal, 
and was in a large measure responsible for 
its notable success. He was also chief marshal 
of the naval procession in Boston at the Grand 
Arm}' encampment of 11(04. At present, he 
is commander of the Massachusetts Command- 
er>' of the " Naval Order" of the United States; 
commander of the Association of Union Ex- 
Prisoners of War; trustee of the National 
Sailors' Home; member of the National Coun- 
cil of the Civil Service Reform League of 
United States; president of the Cambridge 
Civil Service Association; a state commis- 
sioner of the Massachusetts Nautical Training 
School. He delivered the memorial address 
at Harvard in 1900. 



WILLIAM J. ROLFE 

RoLFE, William J., was bom in Newbury- 
port, Mass., December 10, 1827, and died July 
7, 1910. After graduating at Amherst College 
in 1849, he taught in Maryland (Kirkwood 
Academy); at Wrentham, Mass., (Day's Acad- 
emy) ; and later as head-master of high schools 
in Dorchester. Lawrence, Salem and Cambridge. 
In 1867 he edited Craik's "English of Shake- 
speare," and in 1868 a series of text-books in 
Physics, Chemistry and Astronomy, in con- 
junction with Mr. J. A. Gillet; also selections 
from 0\'id, \'irgil and Horace, with Mr. J. H. 
Hanson. In 1870-1883 he edited the complete 
works of Shakespeare. He has also edited 
selections from Gray (1875), Goldsmith (1876), 
Tennyson (1884-1896). and the complete poems 
of Tennyson (10 volumes, 1898); two volumes 
of selections from Browning (1887); Scott's 
"Lady of the Lake." "Marmion," and "Lay 
of the Last Minstrel," with a complete edition 
of Scott's Poems (1882-1887); B>Ton's "Childe 
Harold" (1887); "Minor Poems of Milton" 
(1887); Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome" 
(1888); Selections from W' ordsworth (1888); 
and a series of "Elemcntar>' English Classics" 
(six volumes, 1888-1890). Other of his books 
are "Shakespeare the Boy" (1896); "The Ele- 
mentary Study of English" (1896); "Life of 
Shakespeare" (1901), and "A Satchel Guide 
to Europe" (1872, rc\-ised annually to 1907), 



which was {jutjlished anonj-mously for twenty- 
seven years. 

He received the honorar\' degree of A.M. from 
Harvard in 1859, the same from Amherst in 
1865. and that of Doctor of Letters (Litt.D.) 
from Amherst in 1887. 




WILLI.^M J. ROLFE 

He married (1856) Eliza Jane Carew, who 
died in 1900. He had three sons: John Carew 
Rolfe, George William Rolfe and Charles Joseph 
Rolfe (died in 1911). all graduates of Har\-ard; 
the first being professor of Latin in the L'niversity 
of Pennsylvania; the second, an instructor in the 
Institute of Technology; and the third, a lawyer. 
Dr. Rolfe came to Cambridge in 1862. when he 
became head-master of the High School, which 
was not di\-idcd into English and Latin Schools 
until after he left in 1868. 



W. G. ROSEBERV 
For more than twenty years President Rose- 
ber>' has been an unusualh- successful teacher, 
principal and president in literary- and com- 



240 



A HISTORY OF CAIMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



mercial colleges. For sixteen years he has been 
principal and president of successful schools. 
For more than twenty years, before establishing 
the Cambridge Commercial College, he was with 
the largest commercial school organization in 
the world — about thirty schools with an annual 
attendance of more than 10,000 — first as teacher, 
then principal and finally as superintendent of__a 
group of the schools. 




W. G. ROSEBERY 



The president of that great organization, 
Mr. G. W. Brown, also the manager of the Ameri- 
can Business Educational Exhibit at World's 
Fair, Chicago, 1893, said, "Mr. Rosebery's 
work is characterized by that strength, thor- 
oughness and skill which denote the clear head 
and the master hand." 

Mr. Rosebery holds a handsome diploma 
issued to him by the Chicago World's Fair, for 
"unusual skill as teacher of Bookkeeping and 
Penmanship," and a solid silver medal from the 
Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, 1904, 
for skill as teacher of bookkeeping, penmanship 
and rapid calculation, both the diploma and 
the medal having been won for him by his pupils 
in Competitive Examinations. 



Mr. Rosebery has made a specialty of pre- 
paring young men and young women for con- 
fidential positions and has become so skillful 
in "fitting the right person into the right place," 
that many successful and prominent business 
and professional men rely entirely on his judg- 
ment and recommendations and sometimes have 
him make a selection several months ahead so 
as to be certain to secure someone trained under 
his supervision. His wide experience as teacher 
and business manager has given him a thorough 
knowledge of what business men want, and the 
pupils trained under his personal direction are 
fortunate. The pupils of the Cambridge Com- 
mercial College have his personal attention and 
the benefit of his successful experience. 



JOSEPH HENRY RUSSELL 

Russell, Joseph Henry, was bom in Cam- 
bridge, February 21, 1855. He received his 
education in the public schools of Cambridge 
and in special schools in Boston. Mr. Russell 
has always been active in municipal matters, 
and was a member of the Common Council 
during the years 1890, 1891, 1892 and 1893, 
the^last year being president of that Board. 




JOSEPH HENRY RUSSELL 




^uJLXju^ Tj^. V ^i^a-eXvu. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



Ml 



He is the General Manager for a firm of Boston 
gentlemen whose special l)usiness is the manage- 
ment of estates in trust. This business calls 
for the closest personal attention, experienci- 
and most careful judpnent, and Mr. Russell's 
long connection \vith the firm, which extends 
over a period of more than thirty-five years, 
speaks volumes for his business foresight and 
sagacity. He is also a Director of the Cam- 
bridge Electric Light Company. Mr. Russell 
is a member of the Cambridge and Colonial 
Clubs, of Amicable Lodge of Masons, and 
Har\'ard Council Royal Arcanum. 



WILLIAM EUSTIS RUSSELL 
Russell, William Eustis, the youngest 
man ever raised to the Commonwealth, and 
who was one of the remarkable figures, politi 
cally, in this country, was bom in Cambridge 
Januar>' 6, 1S57, and died in August, 1896. H^' 
was the son of Charles Theodore and Sarah 
Elizabeth (Ballister) Russell, and was educated 
in the Cambridge schools and Harvard College, 
graduating in the class of '77. He studied 
law at the Boston University Law School, 
received the first degree of Bachelor of Law? 
from that imiversity in 1S79, entered the law 
office of his father, and was admitted to the 
Suffolk Bar in 1880. He was elected to the 
common council of his native city in 18S1, and 
served the two following years in the board 
of aldermen. He was chosen mayor in 1884, 
and was re-elected the three succeeding years, 
twice without opposition. 

In 1888, in response to a popular request, 
he accepted the nomination of his party as 
candidate for governor. Although he was 
defeated, he led the ticket. In 1889 he again 
led a brilliant but unsuccessful campaign, and 
so increased his vote that hopes were enter- 
tained of his election if again nominated. He 
again received the nomination in 1890, and 
was triumphantly elected. He was re-elected 
in 1891 and 1892, at both times in the face of 
strong opposition. His administration was 
conducted on sound business principles, and 
as governor he showed the capacity to grasp 
the popular demands in the way of legislation, 
and at all times upheld the interests and honor 
of the state. As an orator, he was one of the 
most brilliant in the state. 




WILLIAM ELSTIS RUSSELL 



DUDLEY ALLEN SARGEXT 
Sargent, Dudley Allen, professor of 
physical training and director of Hemenway 
Gymnasium, Harvard University, was bom 
in Belfast, Waldo County, Me., September 28, 
1849. His father, Benjamin Sargent, son of 
Samuel and Lucy Sargent, and a descendant 
from William Sargent "second," son of William 
and Mary (Epes) Sargent, of Exeter, England 
and Bridgeton, Barbadoes. William "second" 
built a home on Eastern Point, Gloucester. 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1678. He 
married Mary, daughter of Peter Duncan, and 
they had fourteen children. Benjamin Sar- 
gent married Caroline Jane, daughter of Martin 
and Sally (Grinnell) Rogers, of Belfast, Me., 
who was a descendant from John Rogers of 
Marshfield, Plymouth Colony, who came to 
America about 1641. He was a ship carpenter 
and spar maker, and died in 1855. 

Dudley Allen Sargent was large for his age 
and very active; he was fond of drawing boats 



242 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



and ships and constructing toy machines. He 
was brought up in the town of Belfast, on a 
farm owned by his uncle, and he assisted him in 
the work on the farm. He attended school but 
part of each year, being obliged to work most 
of the time. His helpful books when young, 
were: Smile's "Self Help," and Emerson's 
" Conduct of Life," while Cutler's " Physiology" 
first turned his attention to the importance 
of physical exercise and habits of right living. 
His school training was received at the Belfast 
public schools and the Brunswick high school. 



physical culture. He invented gymnastic 
games, exercises, apparatus and developing 
appliances as used in most of the American 
schools, colleges, athletic clubs and Y.M.C.A. 
gymnasiums. He strongly advocated physical 
training as a regular part of the school and 
college curriculum. He had two life-size 
statues made in 1893 of the typical American 
student, a man and a woman. These were 
made from measurements furnished by about 
ten thousand students of both sexes from the 
leading American colleges and tmiversities. 




Dr. SARGENT'S SCHOOL 



He was director of the gymnasium at Bowdoin 
College, Brunswick, Me., from September, ISfiO 
to 1875, and was graduated at Bowdoin College, 
A.B., 1875. He then pursued a cotirse in 
medicine at Yale University medical school, 
where he was instructor in gymnastics, 187G- 
1879, and was graduated M.D., 1878. He also 
attended medical lectures in the schools and 
hospitals of New York City during the spring 
of 1878. He was assistant professor of physi- 
cal training at Harvard University, 1879-1889, 
and director of Hemenway Gymnasium from 
1879, and of the Harvard Summer School for 
physical culture from 1887. He started the 
Sargent Winter Normal School for physical 
education in 1881. An inborn love for activity 
for its own sake, and a feeling of well-doing, 
resulting therefrom, prcmpted him to teach 



He also constructed twenty-two anthropo- 
metric charts the same year, showing the dis- 
tribution of any American community as to 
physical power and proportions; also the rela- 
tion of the individual, in size, strength, sym- 
metry and development, to the normal standard 
of the same age. He did not patent his gym- 
nastic apparatus and developing appliances, 
but gave them freely to the public, thinking 
that was the best way to serve the cause of 
physical education. He came, however, to 
regard this as a mistaken idea, as the profits 
derived from a royalty on the extensive sale 
made of patented apparatus would have 
enabled him to carry on his work of research 
and investigation with more comfort and better 
results, and the public would not have been 
taxed any more forthemanufactured appliances. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



243 



He received the honorar)- degreeof A.M. from 
Bowdoin in 1SS7, and Sc.D. in 1S94. His 
college fraternity was the Alpha Delta Phi, and 
the following learned societies have admitted 
him to membership: American Association for 
the Advancement of Science; American Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Physical Edu- 
cation, of which he was president for several 
years; American Academy of Medicine; Ameri- 
can Statistical Association; American Public 
Health Association; National Educational 
Association; Boston Society of Medical Science; 
Boston Natural History Society; Boston 
Physical Education Society; and his club asso- 
ciation is with the Boston Athletic and Cam- 
bridge Clubs. He was originally a Republican, 
but voted for Cleveland, and from that time has 
been independent in politics, both national and 
local. His religious affiliation is with the 
Universalist denomination. He is the author of 



"Handbook of Developing Exercises" (1SS2); 
"In Case of Accident" (1884); "Universal 
Test for Strength and Endurance" (1902); 
" Health, Strength and Power" ( l'.)l)4) ; " Physi- 
cal Edtlcation" (1900); and of various papers 
read or published by societies and asso- 
ciations and articles for current magazines. 
His investigations include: "The Physical 
Characteristics of Athletics" (1887); "The 
Height and Weight of Cuban Teachers Com- 
pared with American" (1900); "The Physique 
of Scholarship Men, Athletes, and the Average 
Students" (1907). He enjoys and finds 
recreation for his own body in swimming, 
bicycling, dancing and walking and in change 
of employment. 

He was married April 7, 18Ssl, to Ella Eraser, 
daughter of William and Frances ( Worthington) 
Ledyard, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and one child, 
Ledyard, was bom of the marriage. 



MOSES MORSE SAW IX 
Sawin, Moses Morse, son of Moses Sawin, 
was born in 
Southborough, 
Mass., May 5, 
1835. He was 
a farmer and 
miller, having a 
grist mill in his 
native town. 
He worked in 
his father's grist 
mill until 1860, 
attending the 
common schools 
of his native 
town in his boy- 
hood. He left 
home and re- 
moved to Cam- 
bridge, Mass., 
August 14, 1860, 
buying out what 
was then known 
as Buck's Ex- 
press. He con- 
ducted this 
business several 
years under its 
old name, then 



changed it to Sawin's 
one of the best know 




M,S MORSE S.\WIN 



Express, which became 
n and most flourishing 
of the suburban 
express lines 
about Boston. 
His business was 
in transporting 
baggage and 
merchandise be- 
tween Boston 
and Cambridge. 
He continued in 
business until 
1905, when he 
sold out to the 
Boston & Sub- 
urban Express 
Company, and 
retired from ac- 
tive business. 
He has resided 
since 1866, in 
Cambridge, at 
No. 73 Brattle 
Street, his pres- 
ent home. He 
is a well-known 
and highly es- 
teemed citizen. 
Moses M. 



244 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Sawin married, January 18, 1859, in Aug- 
usta, N.Y., Susan Olive Kendall, daughter 
of Leonard Jarvis and Olive Kendall. 
Leonard Jarvis Kendall was a son of David 
and Susan Kendall, of Cambridge, descendant 
of Francis Kendall, the immigrant settler and 
founder of Wobum, Mass. Children: Jennie 
Olive, bom March 1, 1861, married Henry 
Carleton Piper, a son of Henry A. Piper, of 
Cambridge. Henry Carleton Piper resides in 
Australia, representative of the banking firm 
of Henry W. Peabody & Compan}', of New 
York City. Children; Margaret Piper, bom 
May 25, 1892; Warren Piper, bom February 8, 
1898. Charles Austin, bom March 5, 1863, 
assistant cashier of the First National Bank of 
Boston; married Carrie Howland Allen, a 
direct descendant of John Howland, who came 
in the Mayflower; resides in Newton, Mass.; 
no children. Susan Kendall, bom May 17, 
1867, resides at home with her parents. Her- 
bert Edward, bom February 23, 1869, pro- 
prietor of H. E. Sawin's Express, Cambridge; 
married Edith Adams, of Cambridge; child, 
Edward Adams, bom January- 21, 1903. Alice 
L., bom January 17, 1872, resides with her 
parents. George Alfred, bom October 12, 
1878, is with the General Electric Company, 
Lynn, Mass. ; married Grace A. Schofield, whose 
father bought out the firm of Henry Plympton 
& Company, furniture dealers, Boston; child, 
George A., bom March 21, 1907. 



and vice-president of the Boston Elevated Rail- 
way, and has served as president of the American 
Street Railway Association. 

Mr. Sergeant is a practical man who has come 
along to success, first, because he knows and 
enjoys the details of street railroading, and, 
second, because of his capacity for work. He 
has seen the Boston Elevated grow into one of 
the great systems of the country, and he has 




CHARLES SPENCER SERGEANT 

Sergeant, Charles Spencer, vice-president 
of the Boston Elevated Street Railway, was 
bom in Northampton, Mass., April 30, 1852, 
the son of George and Lydia A. (Clark) Ser- 
geant. He was graduated from the North- 
ampton High School and entered a bank at 
Easthampton, where he remained for four years, 
when he went to Michigan and spent the years 
from 1872 to 1876 in railroad work. He then 
accepted a position with the Eastern Railroad 
as chief clerk and auditor, settling in Boston, 
where in 1880 he was married to Elizabeth 
Shepley. Since 1888 he has been successively 
auditor, general manager, second vice-president 



CHARLES SPENXER SERGEANT 

had no small share in its success. With his 
associates he has believed in a policy of co- 
operation with the public in giving service 
creditable alike to Boston and to the men behind 
the corporation. 

He resides in Brookline and is a member of 
the Algonquin, St. Botolph, Exchange and 
Country Clubs. 

He has traveled much abroad, at one time 
spending six months in London, having been 
called there as an expert to consult in the con- 
struction of the underground railway, one of the 
notable English enterprises. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



245 



CHARLES WILLIAM SEVER 

Sever, Charles William, was born in 
Plymouth, Mass., July 1, 1834. As a boy he 
came to Cambridge, in 1849, and entered the 
employ of John Bartlctt. proprietor of the Uni- 
versity Book Store, then located at the comer 
of Holyokc Street and Harvard Street (now 
Massachusetts Avenue). Some years later, 
Mr. Bartlett went into the finn of Little, Brown 
& Co., disposing; of the book store to a firm 
which formed for the puqTOse, and which was 
composed of Mr. Sever, Mr. AUyn and Mr. 
Francis. 

About that time, the concern moved to the 
comer of Boylston Street, and located where 
the grocery store of J. H. Wyeth & Co. now 
stands. A few years later, Mr. Francis died, 
and Mr. Allyn withdrew to take up a branch of 
the business which had been developed in Bos- 
ton. This left the business entirely to Mr. 
Sever. In 1872, he again removed, this time 
to the store still occupied by the firm. From 
then till about 1894, Mr. Sever conducted the 
business alone, finally forming a partnership 
\v\ih George H. Kent. 

Mr. Sever also conducted an extensive in- 
surance business, and had charge of much valu- 
able real estate in the Harx-ard Square district, 
notably that owned by the Little estate. 

Mr. Sever's connection \\^th the Cambridge 
Savings Bank extended over a period of thirty 
years. In 1874, he was elected a trustee, and 
four years later, on March 18, 1878, he was 
elected president, holding the office till his death. 

He had been a member of several organiza- 
tions at various times in his life, but at the time 
of his death belonged only to the Order of Cin- 
cinnati. Mr. Sever died July 19, 1904. He is 
survived by a widow and fi\-c children. 



WILLIAM BALDWIN SMITH 
Smith, William Baldwin, for many years 
a resident of Cambridge, and prominent in 
Boston business circles, came of an old Maine 
family. He was bom in the city of Bath in 
1844. He spent the early part of his life in his 
native State, and received his education there. 
While still a young man he went to Boston for 
the purpose of obtaining emplo\inent. It was 
about forty-seven years ago that he started to 



work for the concern of which he afterwards 
became a member. 

The finn of Braman, Dow and Company, with 
which he secured a position, was then and still 
continues to be one of the most important com- 
panies engaged in this part of the country in the 
manufacture of steam jjijjes and steam fitting 
supplies. Mr. Smith was an energetic and 
ambitious young man, ha\nng an unusual 
amount of business acumen for one of his age. 




WILLIAM BALDWI.V SMITH 

He set out to master every detail, and it was not 
long before his value to the company was recog- 
nized. Promotion followed promotion rapidly, 
until finally he was asked to become a partner. 
Mr. Smith accepted the offer. 

As a member of the firni, Mr. Smith did not 
relax his acti\-ity. His mind was fertile in ideas, 
and he was continually watching for oppor- 
tunities to improve the methods in use by the 
company. Furthennore, he was always ready- 
to listen to the suggestions of others and to 
adopt them if they had merit. The business 
of Braman, Dow and Company increased re- 
markably under his direction. 

In addition to his connection with Braman, 
Dow and Company, Mr. Smith ha'l for some 



246 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



time prior to his death been vice-president of 
the Puritan Trust Company, of Boston. His 
clear understanding of financial and business 
questions was highly esteemed by the directors 
and other officers of that institution. His long 
experience in dealing with men and things had 
furnished him with a large fund of information; 
hence his decisions were prompt. Men engaged 
in important enterprises often came to him for 
advice, and the success of many undertakings 
might be traced to his counsel. 

Mr. Smith never sought or accepted public 
office from his fellow-citizens. He was affiliated 
wath the Masonic fraternity, and was a member 
of Coeur de Lion Commandcry and of Aleppo 
Temple, Mystic Shrine. His benefactions, 
though unostentatious, were numerous. 

Mr. Smith died February 3, 1912, at his home, 
34 Linnaean Street. He was sixty-seven years 
of age. 

By sound judgment and signal business suc- 
cess, William Baldwin Smith achieved the 
highest standing in the Boston manufacturing 
and financial world. By a long and consistently 
upright life he showed himself to be one of the 
State's best men. Such men — modest, faithful 
to all trusts, and advanced and liberal in thought 
— make the prosperity of their localities and 
insure the stabilitv of the Commonwealth. 



and is at present a trustee of the Public Library 
of this city. His political affiliations are with 
the Democratic Partv. 



JOHN E. SOMERS 

SoMERS, John E., physician, was born in 
Nova Scotia. He obtained his early education 
in the schools of his native place, and then 
matriculated at the Saint Francis Xa-v-ier Uni- 
versity. After leaving the University with the 
degree of LL.D., he began the study of medicine 
at the Harv^ard Medical School, and continued 
it at the Belle\aie Hospital Medical College. 
He graduated and received the degree of M.D. 
from the latter institution. A year and a half 
in Vienna he devoted to further studies. 

Dr. Somers commenced his professional career 
in Cambridge, and has ever since continued to 
practise here. He is now at the head of the 
visiting medical staff of the Holy Ghost hospital, 
and was fonnerly president of the Cambridge 
Medical Society. He is also a member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society, the American 
Medical Association and numerous clubs. He 
has served on the Cambridge School Committee, 




JOHN E. SOMERS 

Dr. Somers is a member of the Roman Catho- 
lic Church. His home and office are in North 
Cambridge. 



ALVIN FOYE SORTWELL 
SoRTWELL, Alvin Foye, banker and rail- 
road president, was bom in Boston, July 21, 
1854, son of Daniel R. and Sophia Augusta 
(Foye) Sortwell. He was educated in the 
Chauncy Hall School, and at Phillips (Andover) 
Academy, where he was fitted for college. In- 
stead of entering college, however, he engaged 
actively in business, and at the age of eighteen 
was a partner in the firm of Sortwell & Co., 
and had full charge of the business in East 
Cambridge established by his father. After 
a successful and prosperous career he retired 
from active business in March, 1891. He had, 
however, retained his interests in banking and 
railroad business, and in other corporations, 
and at the time was president of the Cambridge 
National Bank, of which he had been a director 



I<ir,RAPHII> 



247 



for twelve years; and a member of the invest- 
ment committee of the East Cambridge Sa\-inj:s 
Bank; president of the Cambridge Trust Com- 
pany; president of the MontpcHer & Wells 
River Railroad, of Vermont; vice-president of 
the Barrc Railroad; ])residcnt of the Colonial 
Mining Corporation of New Mexico; director 
in the B. and R. Rubber Company, and National 
Binding Company; and treasurer of the Co- 
lumbia Water Power Company, of Columbia. 
He was prominent in Cambridge affairs for 
many years and scr\-ed for a long period in 
the city go\cmment; first elected to the com- 
mon council in 1878, he served during the year 
1879; then, moving into another ward, he was 
again chosen in 1S85, and returned in 1886, 
1887 and 1888. The last year he served as 
president of the body. He was next elected 
an aldennan for 1889, and re-elected for 1890, 
the latter year being chosen unanimously presi- 
dent of the board. During five years of this 
long service he was a member of the committee 
on finance, and chairman both on the part of 
the council and of the aldermen; five years also 
on the committee on roads and bridges, and 
its chairman on the jjart of both branches; a 
member of the committee on the Harvard 
Bridge; chaimian of the committee on ordi- 
nances during their revision in 1889; and a 
member of the committee on purchase of a 
site for the new city hall. He was a member of 
the Cambridge water board for a number of 
years, and was chairman of the board at the 
time of his death. He was a member of the 
committee on the revision of the city charter; 
and scr\-ed as a trustee of the Cambridge public 
library for six years, treasurer of the board, 
resigning the latter position on the first of 
January', 1895. In 1897 and 1898 he was 
mayor of the city of Cambridge. Mr. Sort- 
well was a \-en,- bright and able man. His 
administration of the city's affairs was a task 
well accomplished, one of the best since Cam- 
bridge became a city. He was a member of 
lodge, chapter and commander}- of Free Masons; 
and a member of the Algonquin and Athletic 
Clubs of Boston; of ihe Eastern Yacht Club; 
the Oakley Club; of the Countr\' Club of 
Brookline, and of the Union, Colonial, and 
Cambridge Clubs of Cambridge, of the latter a 
charter member. He was married December 
31, 1879, to Miss Gertrude Winship Dailcy, 



daughter of WiUiam and Mary Elizabeth 
(Winshij)) Dailey, of Cambridge. They have 
six children: Clara, Frances Augusta, Daniel 
R., Marion, Edward Carter and Alvin F. Sort- 
well. Mr. Sortwcll died March 21. 1910. He 
is survived liy his wife and the above-named 
children. Mr. Sortwcll will be greatly missed 
in the community to which he has been bound 
by peculiar bontls of tenderness. He leaves 
to his family that choicest of all legacies — an 
honored name and a reputation for uprightness, 
integrity, gentleness and courtesy. Daniel R. 
Sortwcll, the eldest son has succeeded his father 
in the various positions which he occupied. 



DANIEL ROBINSON SORTWELL 
SoRTWELL, Daniel Robinson, of Cambridge, 
manufacturer and railroad president, was bom 
in Barton, Vt., July 10, 1820; died in Mont- 
pelier, Vt., October 4, 1894. His father was 
John Sortwcll, of Barton, who was for many 
years selectman of the town. His maternal 
grandfather, Jonathan Robinson, was a soldier 
of the Revolution. His mother was Percy 
(Robinson) Sortwell. His boyhood was spent 
on the farm and in the local public schools; and 
at the age of seventeen he started out to seek his 
fortune. Gathering his wordly goods in a 
bundle, he worked his way to Boston by assist- 
ing a cattle drover, doing the entire distance on 
foot, and there began his business career in a 
small position in the produce trade. From this 
humble beginning, through unflagging industry, 
perseverance and economy, he so advanced that 
within a few years he was enabled to enter busi- 
ness on his own account ; and at the time of his 
death he was reported to be worth upward of 
two millions. His first venture was a produce 
store in Fancuil Hall market, in which he con- 
ducted a flourishing trade. In 1848 he formed 
the firm of Sortwell & Co., commission merchants, 
with the late Thomas L. Smith as partner, which 
firm continued until 1856. Then he sold out 
this business, and established the "Sortwell 
Distillery" in East Cambridge, in which he 
prospered from the start. Later he became a 
stockholder in the Connecticut & Passumpsic 
River Railroad; and subsequently, through this 
connection, a bond-holder in the Montpelier & 
Wells River Railroad at its inception. In 
Januars'. 1877, he was elected president of the 
latter road, which position he held at the time 



248 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTvS 



of his death. He was also the promoter of the 
Barre Railroad, Vt., the line known as the "Sky- 
Route" to the well-known Barre granite quarries, 
which was begun in July, 1888, and a length of 
five miles completed in 1889. In the construc- 
tion of this road Mr. Sortwell took much interest; 
and he was chiefly instrumental in building the 
branch from Montpelier to Barre, giving the 



Railroad, Mr. Sortwell, at the time of his death, 
held the positions of president of the Cambridge 
National Bank, trustee of the East Cambridge 
Five Cents Savings Bank, and treasurer of the 
Columbia (S.C.) Water Power Company. In 
Cambridge he served for five years as a member 
of the Board of Aldermen. He was connected 
with the Masonic order. 




DANIEL ROBINSON' SORTWELL 



Barre road direct connection with the Mont- 
pelier & Wells River Railroad. He was a large 
stockholder in both of the Barre railroads, and 
also owned nearly ninety-eight per cent, of the 
stock of the Montpelier & Wells River Railroad, 
besides being a large real estate owner in Barre. 
He did much in upbuilding that town and for the 
advancement of Montpelier. In addition to the 
presidency of the Montpelier & Wells River 



Mr. Sortwell was married May 19, 1850, to 
Miss Sophia Augusta Foye, of Wiscasset, Me., 
daughter of Moses and Sophia A. Foye. They 
had one daughter and one son : Frances Augusta 
(bom June 8, 1851; died August 19, 1857) and 
M\nn Foye Sortwell (born July 21, 1854; died 
March 21, 1910). Sophia A., wife of Daniel R. 
Sortwell, died on September 26, 1890, at Cam- 
bridge. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



249 



CHARLES WIiNTHROP SPENCER 
Spencer. Charles Winthrop, lawycT, was 
bom at Cambridge, May 13, 1868, his parents 
beint,' Charles H. and Clara M. (Palmer) 
Spencer. He graduated from the Camlmdge 
Latin School in 1886; from Harvard College, 
with the degree of A.B.. in 1890; and from 
Har\-ard Law School, with the degree of LL.B., 
in 1892. From 1894 to 1901 he was assistant 
clerk of the Supcri<ir Court , Suffolk County. 




CHARLES WINTHROP SPENXER 

His law offices are in Barrister's Hall, Boston, 
but much of his time is spent with the T. E. 
Moseley Company, 160 Trcmont Street, of 
which he is president and treasurer. 

He was married to Ethel M. Wheeler, April 
28, 1896. They have four children: Winthrop 
W., Henr>- W., Ethel Beatrice and Robert 
Palmer. 



JOHN P. SQUIRE 

Squire, John P., who died January 7, 1893, 
was a son of Peter and Esther Squire, and was 
bom in the town of Wcathersfield, Windsor 
County, V't., on the 8th day of May, 1819. His 
father was a farmer. The years of his boyhood 
were spent at his home, attending the public 
schools and working on the farm. 

On the first day of May, 1835, he entered the 
employment of a Mr. Orvis, the village store- 



keeper, at West Windsor, Vt., and remained 
with him until the winter of 1837, when he 
attended the academy at Unity, N.H., of which 
the Rev. A. A. Miner was then principal. He 
taught school at Cavendish during a part of 
the winter of 1837-1838. On the 19th of March. 
1838, he came to Boston; entered the employ 
of Nathan Robbins, in Faneuil Hall Market, 
and continued %vith him until April 30, 1842. 
when he formed a co-partnership with Francis 
Russell, and carried on the provision business 
at No. 25 Faneuil Hall Market, under the style 
of Russell & Squire, until the year 1847. when 
the co-partnership was dissolved. 

Mr. Squire continued the business alone at 
the same place until the year 1855, when he 
formed a new co-partncrshi]j with Hiland Lock- 
wood and Edward Kimball, under the name of 
John P. Squire & Company Coq:)oration. The 
changes in the partners have been as follows: 
the retirement of Edward Kimball in the year 
1866; the admission of W. W. Kimball in the 
same year, and his retirement in 1873; the ad- 
mission of Mr. Squire's sons, George W. and 
Frank O. Squire, in the year 1873; the death 
of Hiland Lockwood in the year 1874; the 
retirement of George W. Squire in the year 1876; 
the admission of Fred F. Squire, Mr. Squire's 
youngest son, January 1, 1884, and the death 
of the founder of the house in 1893. 

In 1855 Mr. Squire bought a small tract of 
land in East Cambridge and built a slaughter 
house. Since that time the business has grown 
to such an extent that the corporation of John 
P. Squire & Co. has today one of the largest 
and best equipped packing houses in the coimtrj', 
and stands third in the list of hog packers in 
the United States. 

On October 5, 1891, a fire partially destroyed 
the large refrigerator of this corporation. This 
necessitated rebuilding. A system of artificial 
refrigeration has been adopted in place of the 
old method of refrigerating with ice, whereby 
the capacity of their packing house has been 
increased about double its capacity lx?fore the 
lire. The melting capacity of the ice machines 
used is one hundred and fifty tons of ice per 
day. A new chimney two hundred and twenty- 
live feet high, with a flue nine feet across at the 
base, and with walls four feet thick, has been 
built to run the refrigerating machines. With 



250 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



these alterations and improvements, their plant, 
as far as equipments and conveniences are con- 
cerned, is second to none in the country. 

In the year 1843 Mr. Squire married Kate 
Green Orvis, daughter of his old employer. 
Eleven children were born of the marriage, 
eight of whom are now lixang, as follows : George 
W., Jennie C, Minnie E., John A., Kate I., 
Nannie K., Fred F., and Bessie E. Squire. One 
son, Charles, died in infancy, and a daughter, 
Nellie G., died October 13, 1890. 

In 1848 he moved to West Cambridge, now 
called Arlington, where he lived up to the time 
of his death. 

Mr. Squire joined the Mercantile Library 
Association when he first came to Boston, and 
spent a great deal of his leisvu-e time in reading, 
of which he was very fond. The high position 
which he held in commercial circles was due to 
his imtiring industry, undaunted courage and 
marked ability. 



HENRY C. STETSON 
Stetson, Henry C, president of the Com- 
mon Council of Cambridge, in 1907, and who 
died April 16 of that year, was bom in Bangor, 
Me., in 1869 and spent his early life in the Pine 
Tree State. He attended Phillips Academy, 
in Andover, and then entered Yale College, 
graduating in 1893. He came to Cambridge 
and entered the Harvard Law School, from which 
he took his degree in 1896. Three years later 
he received the degree of A.M. at Yale. He 
was admitted to the Maine bar and subse- 
quently to the Suffolk bar. 

He took up his residence in Cambridge in 1894, 
and lived here practically all of the time up to 
his death. He took an active interest in Cam- 
bridge public affairs. From the start he was 
with the Non-Partisan movement. He was 
chosen a member of the original committee of 
one hundred which formed the Non-Partisan 
Municipal Party. He was president of the 
Ward Nine Non-Partisan Club and performed 
a great deal of service in connection with regis- 
tration. He was a member of the Oakley Club, 
the University Club and the Economy Club; a 
director of the Y.M.C.A., and a member of the 
executive committee of St. John's Chapel. 



In 1904, Mr. Stetson received the nomination 
of the Non-Partisan party to the Common 
Council from Ward Nine, being unopposed in 
the primaries. He was again elected in 1906 
and once more in 1907, being the only member 
of the council of this year having two years' 
experience. This fact and the fact that he had 
endeared himself to his fellow members won for 
him the presidency of that body, the election 
being unanimous. 

In 1907, Mr. Stetson was chosen treasurer of 
the Non-Partisan City Committee. He was 
an incorporator of the Cambridge Savings Bank. 
He is survived bv a wife. 



EDMUND HORACE STEVENS 

Stevens, Edmund Horace, surgeon, was 
bom at Stansted, Canada, January 2, 1846, 
being the son of Horace and Louisa J. Stevens. 
He decided to follow the profession of his father, 
who was a physician. In 1864, when the Civil 
War was raging, he proffered his services to 
the country, which stood in need of men that 
had knowledge of surgery. As medical cadet 
in the United States Na\'y he was under fire 
wdth Farragut at Mobile Bay. Later in the 
year he was made medical officer in charge of 
the United States Steamship Philip pa. Hon- 
orably discharged from the Navy, he obtained 
the appointment of acting surgeon in the Army, 
and was afterwards promoted to be assistant 
svu-geon. This was in 1865, and he was attached 
to the Army of the Potomac. The experience 
gained in both branches was invaluable. 

After the war his studies were completed at 
the Harvard Medical School, from which he 
received the degree of M.D., in 1867. In 1871 
he came to Cambridge, and has practised here 
ever since. The city owes much to him on 
account of his conscientious work at the Cam- 
bridge Hospital, where he is surgeon. 

Among the organizations of which he is a 
member are the American Medical Association, 
the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, 
the Boston Obstetrical Society and the Cam- 
bridge Society for Medical Improvement. 

He was married in Boston, in 1867, to MeUssa 
E. Paine. His home is at 79 Ra^nnond Street 
in this city. 




^^^'^^ c/^C^^fcr- 



BKir.RAPHIES 



251 



ENSIGN— STRATTON 

Stratton, Samuel, the immigrant ancestor 
of the Strattons of Cambridge, Mass., was bom 
in England, in 1592, and married his first wife 
there; she probably died soon after her hus- 
band, herself and their two sons arrived in 
America. Samuel Stratton appeared as a 
surveyor of town lots in Watertown, Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony, in 1047, and took the 
freeman's oath. May IS, l(i53. He married, 
as his second wife, August 28, 1G57, Margaret, 
widow of William Parker, of Boston. He 
resided in that part of the town of Watertown 
subsequently set off to the town of Cambridge, 
in the neighborhood of the present Lowell 
Park, and contiguous to land that became the 
estate of James Russell Lowell. Samuel and 
Margaret Parker Stratton had three sons: 
Samuel, John and Richard. Richard, son of 
Richard last named, settled in Easthampton, 
Long Island, N.Y., where both his uncle John 
and his father Richard lived for several years. 
Samuel Stratton the immigrant, died Decem- 
ber 18, 1070, aged eighty-one years. 

John (2), son of Samuel and Margaret 
(Parker) Stratton, was bom in England, 1033, 
and settled with his father in Watertown, Mass., 
in 1047. He became a freeman of the town 
of Watertown, May 27, H)03, and married, 
March 10, 1059, EHzabeth Traine, and their 
children were: Elizabeth, bom in Watertown, 
died in infancy, 1059; John, bom August 24, 
1001; Elizabeth, bom July 2, 1004; Joseph, 
bom January 13, 1000; Samuel, bom Sep- 
tember IS, 1009; Rebecca, bom May 10, 1072; 
Ebenczer, bom November 2, 1077, died in 
infancy; Ebenezer, bom October 2, 1678; 
Jonathan, bom March 0, 1079. John Stratton, 
the father, died in Watertown, April 7, 1691; 
and his widow died May 7, 1708. 

Joseph (3), second son of John and Eliza- 
beth (Traine) Stratton, was bom in WatertoA^-n, 
January 13, 1060, and married Sarah How, 
November 14, 1095. 

Jonathan (4), son of Joseph and Sarah (How) 
Stratton, was bom in Weston, Mass., 1714, and 
was married November 1, 1738, to Dinah Bemis, 
of Waltham. He served as a private in Colonel 
Lamson's company, and marched to Lexing- 
ton on receiving the alarm, April 19, 1775, and 
served for three days, when he was discharged. 



Jonathan (5), son of Jonathan and Dinah 
(Bemis) Stratton, was bom in Weston, March 
S, 1740, and was married September 20, 1768, 
to Sarah Childs. He served as a private, 
according to the muster and pay rolls of Cap- 
tain Jonathan Fiske, of Weston, in Colonel 
Brook's company, called out March 4, 1776, 
for five days' service, and was stationed at 
Dorchester Heights, and also performed vari- 
ous other military service. 

Shubael C. (6), son of Sarah (Childs) Strat- 
ton, was bom in Weston, Mass., December 6, 
170S. He married Betsey Cook. 

Ira (7), son of Shubael C. and Betsey (Cook) 
Stratton, was bom in New Salem, Mass., 
January 0, 1804. He attended the common 
schools in his native town, leaving it when 
fourteen years old to go west. At the age 
of sixteen he returned home and worked in a 
brush factory in Boston until he had learned 
the trade. Flavel Coolidge (1775-1848) op- 
erated a brush factory in Cambridgeport, 
Mass., and he made Ira Stratton his foreman 
as soon as he had completed his apprentice- 
ship in the Boston establishment. Mr. Strat- 
ton continued in that position up to the time 
of the death of his father-in-law, in 1848, when 
he became sole owner of the factor}-. He 
subsequently opened a brush shop on Exchange 
Street, Boston, in co-partnership with Sherifif 
and Eastham, and the enterprise was very 
successful, enabling him to acquire a compe- 
tence. His next business venture was in the 
manufacture of glass, in partnership with 
Amory Houghton, the factory being located 
in Somerville. The business proved to be 
uncongenial to Mr. Stratton, and he sold out 
to his partner, and gave the remainder of his 
life to the care of his estate. 

He was married, November 6, 1835, to 
Martha Ann, daughter of Flavel and Anna 
(Wilds) Coolidge, and in this waj- became 
owner of the brush factory of Mr. Coolidge. 
Flavel Coolidge, father of Jlrs. Ira Stratton, 
was the son of Elisha S. Coolidge, of Ashbum- 
ham, W^orcester County, Mass., and the young- 
est of eleven children. He was bom in 1775, 
and in 1780 his father, with his entire family, 
joined the Shaker community at Shirley, 
Mass. This remarkable society, inaugurated 
in America by Ann Lee, who with eight of her 



252 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



followers embarked at Liverpool, England, 
May 19, 1774, and arrived in New York, 
August 6, following, purchased land in the 
woods of Watervliet, N.Y., in 1776, and while 
the colonists were engaged in the war of the 



there was a religious awakening at New Leba- 
non, Columbian County, N.Y., thirty miles 
distant, and many of the subjects of the revival 
there, visited "Mother Ann," at Watervliet, 
and became converts to the new faith. Ann 




u', ^.JOfyzc^^ ti^z^J 



Revolution, these frugal and industrious people 
were building up a society that took within 
its fold the spirits of religious unrest wherever 
a religious awakening arose. After the society 
at Watervliet had been successfully planted, 



Lee and her elders and friends became mission- 
aries, and after establishing what proved to be 
their most successful settlement at New Leba- 
non, they held forth in Hancock, Tyringham, 
Howard and Shirley, in Massachusetts, and 



i 






■ w^ ^5*. 



\ 




-"'^^^^-^^c^ 7^:;^.^%^ 



I 



RIOGR.\PHIES 



253 



Enfield, in Connecticut, and societies were 
planted which gathered many followers and 
each became models of industrial communism 
that attracted the attention of idealists not 
alone in America, but abroad also. After 
little more than two years of missionary- work 
"Mother Ann" returned to Watervliet, where 
she received inquirers, and after a ministry 
of fourteen years, she died, September S, 1784. 
It was three years after her death before regu- 
larly organized communities were established. 
The society at New Lebanon, N.Y., was organ- 
ized in September, 17S7, and furnished the 
model for the others. It grew to six hundred 
members, and the community owned six 
thousand acres of land. Watervliet grew to 
three hundred members; Groveland, Living- 
stone County, N.Y., to one hundred and fifty; 
Hancock, Berkshire County, Mass., to two 
hundred; Tyringham, Berkshire County, Mass., 
to one hundred; Harvard, Worcester County, 
to two hundred; Shirley, Mass., to one hun- 
dred; Enfield, Plartford County, Conn., to 
two hundred; Canterbury, Merrimac County, 
N.H., to three hundred; Enfield, Grafton 
County, N.H., to three hundred; Alfred, York 
County, Me., to one hundred and fifty; and 
New Gloucester, York County, Me., to one 
hundred and fifty members. These societies 
were formed between 17S7 and 1792, and it 
was not imtil ISOii, that Ohio and Kentucky 
were invaded by the disciples of Ann Lee; like 
the Salem Witches and the Roman Catholics, 
the Shakers did not escape persecution from the 
Puritans of New England, and the society 
at Shirley, when "Mother Ann" was preaching 
there, was subjected to mob violence, not only 
from the outside world, but from dissenting 
members of the society, notably on March 3, 
1802. 

Flavel Coolidge left the comnnmity after 
he had learned the trade of brush-making, and 
attained his majority, in 179(5. He journeyed 
to Cambridgeport, where he engaged as a 
carpenter with Josiah and Thomas Mason, and 
while thus engaged built a house of five rooms 
for himself, preparatory to his contemplated 
marriage, and in January, 1.806, he married 
Anna, datighter of Elijah, Jr., and Eunice 
(Saflord) Wilds, and granddaughter of Elijah 
(1718-1791) and Anna (Hovey) Wilds, all 



converts to the Shaker faith under the preach- 
ing of Ann Lee, and by so doing severed all 
family ties, and they with their children were 
merged in the Shaker community, and Elijah 
Wilds, Jr., was appointed an elder at the organ- 
ization of the society in Shirley, and continued 
in office up to the time of his death, March 14, 
1S29, at the age of eighty-three years. Anna 
Wilds was bom February 15, 1779, and with 
her parents and grandparents became members 
of the Shaker community at Shirley. Here, 
she met Flavel Coolidge, son of Elisha Coolidge, 
who was bom January 19, 177.5, died February 
1, 1S48. He was one of the founders of the 
First Universalist church of Cambridge, and 
a deacon for many years. Elisha Coolidge 
was bom July 20, 1720; died August 18, 1807. 
Flavel Coolidge was also a convert to the faith. 
When he left the community in 179G, Anna 
Wilds also deserted it, and went to live with 
relatives in Lancaster, Mass., and it was there 
that her lover found her and they were married. 
Flavel and Anna (Wilds) Coolidge had three 
children bom at their home at Cambridgeport, 
where the mother died, June 28, 1874, aged 
ninety-five years and four months. The 
children were: Merrick, bom October 6, 1806; 
married Sarah Ann Tucker, November, 1831; 
died, 1850; he had two children, Helen and 
Anna. Martha Ann, bom January 19, 1814; 
died, January 2, LSOO. She married Ira Strat- 
ton, and their children were: Flavel Coolidge, 
bom in Cambridge, Mass., October 4, 1836; 
died Febmary Jo, 1840. Flavel Coolidge (2), 
bom in Cambridge, Mass., February 14, 1840. 
He prepared for college at the 'New Salem 
Academy, entered Harvard University 1858, 
and was graduated from there with the degree 
of Bachelor of Arts in 1861, the year in which 
he attained his majority. He studied law 
and then went abroad, visiting England, where 
he engaged in the banking business with Beld- 
ing, Keith & Co. After returning to Cambridge 
he removed to Erie, Pa., where he engaged in 
the dry goods business. Upon the death of 
his father, August, 1873, he retired from busi- 
ness and resided with his mother in Cambridge, 
where he died suddenly of heart failure, July 
23, 1906. He was a member of the Masonic 
Fratemity. He was unmarried. A friend 
speaking of Flavel C. Stratton, said, "he was 



254 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



learned yet unpretentious, thoughtful yet not 
effusive in speech. Tender as a woman in 
his sympathies, yet lion-hearted for the right." 
Anna Maria, born in Cambridge, February 4, 
1848, died September 23, 1850. Martha 
Louise, bom in Cambridge, February 4, 1851, 
received her education in the public schools, 
completing the high school course. She mar- 
ried, November 20, 1889, Dwight W. Ensign 
(sketch follows). Flavel, Jr., (3) bom August 
8, 1816, died in Cambridgeport, February 28, 
1891. He married Betsey Perkins, and (second) 
Almira Pierce. 

Dwight W. Ensign, above mentioned, was 
bom in Sheridan, Chautauqua County, N.Y., 
August 2, 1839. He is the son of Seymour P. 
and Diantha (Holmes) Ensign, grandson of 
Otis Ensign, Jr., who enlisted in the Conti- 
nental army when sixteen years old, and served 
five years, being one of the guard at the hanging 
of Major Andre, and was with General Wash- 
ington at Valley Forge, when he received a 
scolding and apology from Washington when 
circumstances were explained; great-grandson 
of Otis Ensign, Sr., who was killed in the mas- 
sacre of Wyoming, and a decendant of James 
Ensign, who settled in Brattle Street, Cam- 
bridge, Mass., about 1632. He is a member of 
the Sons of the American Revolution, Union 
Club of Boston, Cambridge, and the Boston 
Art Club. His wife, Martha Louise (Stratton) 
Ensign, has traveled extensively in Europe. 
She is a member of the Vermont Society of 
Colonial Dames; Old South Chapter, Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution, Daughters of 
the Revolution; The Daughters of Massachu- 
setts; New England's Women's Club; Canta- 
brigia Club of Cambridge; Peabody Home for 
Aged People, and other societies and organiza- 
tions. Mrs. Ensign takes a deep interest in 
charitable and religious work. She is a member 
of the Second Church (Unitarian), of Copley 
Square, Boston. 



pendent business venture was a grocery and 
provision store. Mr. Sutton continued to 
conduct it for sixteen years, and in addition, 
about twenty-eight years ago, began in a small 
way to manufacture and retail ice cream. The 
excellence of his product becoming generally 
known soon resulted in such a demand that, 
in 1902, he was finally compelled to give all 
his time to an enterprise which had originally 
been subordinate. 



WILLIAM P. SUTTON 
Sutton, William P., prominent Cambridge 
business man and proprietor of the Mansion 
House Ice Cream Company, was bom on June 
16, 1865. He received a good education in the 
public schools of Cambridge. His first inde- 




WILLIAM P. SUTTON 

The Mansion House Ice Cream Company, 
which this year ceased to be a retail concern, is 
one of the most important wholesale ice cream 
companies in this part of the country. The 
plant covers an area of 4,800 feet; the operating 
power is electricity, and the modem brine system 
of freezing is used. The maximtun daily output 
is 1,500 gallons; thirty-one people are employed, 
and the delivery service consists of twelve wagons 
and two motor trucks. 

Mr. Sutton is an ardent advocate of pure 
food; furthermore, he has demonstrated that 
his theories are practicable. Not content with 
merely living up to the regulations of the Board 
of Health, he has adopted a higher standard of 
his own. From the moment that the raw 



BIOGRAPHIES 



-'.■^3 



material leaves the dairy until the ice cream is 
delivered at the consumer's door, no precaution 
is neglected. The ice cream is made, not in a 
basement — as is often the case — but on the 
ground floor, where there is jilcnty of fresh air 
and sunshine. In an article on pure food, 
published in a recent issue of the Boston Ameri- 
can, the Mansion House Ice Cream Company 
was mentioned as beinj; amonK the fimis which 
produce and distribute their ^joods under the 
most sanitary conditions. 

On January 8, 1890, Mr. Sutton was married 
to Matilda J. Schlittor. They have two dau^'h- 
ters — Esther V. and Alice M., the fonner at 
present a student at Radcliffc College. 

Mr. Sutton is a Mason, being a member of 
Putnam Blue Lodge, Cambridge Royal Arch 
Chapter, Cambridge Commandery, NaphthaH 
Council and Aleppo Temple of the Mystic 
Shrine. He is also a member of New England 
Lodge, I.O.O.F., Cambridge Lodge, B.P.O.E., 
Lechmere Council, R.A., and the Cambridge 
Board of Trade. He is one of the Trustees of 
the East Cambridge Five Cent Savings Bank. 

Mr. Sutton's home is in Cambridge. 



WILLIAM DONNISON SWAN, M.D. 
Swan, William Donnison, M.D., of Cam- 
bridge, was bom in Kennebunk, Me., January 
1, 1859, son of Rev. Joshua A. Swan, Unitarian 
minister at Kennebunk for eighteen years, and 
Sarah, his wife, daughter of the Rev. Richard 
M. Hodges, Unitarian minister at Bridgewater, 
Mass. His mother's maternal grandfather, 
William Donnison, was an ofliccr in the Revo- 
lution, and afterwards adjutant-general to 
Governor Hancock and judge of the Court of 
Common Pleas. He was fitted for college at 
the Cambridge High School; entered Har\-ard, 
and graduated in the class of 1881. His pro- 
fessional training followed at the Har\-ard Medi- 
cal School, from which he graduated M.D. in 
1885. After two years of study in the hospitals 
of Boston and one year in Vienna and Frankfort- 
on-thc-Main, he began practice in Cambridge 
in ISSS. Three years later he was appointed 
medical examiner for the First District of 
Middlesex County (Cambridge, Belmont and 
Arlington) by Governor Brackett. He is now 
also visiting physician to the Cambridge Hos- 



pital antl to the Avon Home of Cambridge. 
He is a member of the Massachusetts Medical 
Society, and of the Massachusetts Medico- 
Legal Society. His club connections are with 
the Union Club of Boston, and the Oaklev Club. 




WILLIAM DONNISON SWAN. M.U. 

Dr. Swan was married April 30, 1890, to Miss 
Mary Winthrop Hubbard, daughter of Samuel 
Hubbard, of Oakland, Cal. They have two 
children: Marian Hubbard (born Februan,- 22, 
1891) and William Donnison Swan, Jr. (bom 
October 9. 1S94). 



BENJAMIN TILTON 
TiLTON, Benjamin, son of Captain Benjamin 
Tilton, was born in the State of Maine, August 
25, 1805. He came to Boston in a sailing vessel 
in the year 1821 and there became a clerk in a 
dry goods store. He was married in 1828 to 
Lucinda, daughter of Ebenczcr and Anna 
(Whiting) Newell, and granddaughter of Colonel 
Daniel Whiting (1732-1807). of Natick. Mass.. 
an officer in the French and Indian War and in 
the Patriot Army during the American Revolu- 
tion. Mr. Tilton and his wife lived first in 
Boston, then removed to Brookline, and in 1837 



256 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



made their pcmianent home in Cambridge. 
Besides being a director in the Cambridgeport 
Bank, he was instrumental in founding and 
organizing the Harvard Bank, in 1860, which 
became the First National Bank of Cambridge 
in 1864, which, in turn, became the Harvard 
Trust Company in 1904. Mr. Tilton was its 
president from its organization, March, 1864, 
to the time of his death in November, 1882. He 
was also president of the Cambridgeport Savings 
Bank, 1854-1882. Under his presidency the 
Har\^ard Bank, with its capital of $200,000, paid 
annual dividends of from six to twelve percent. 
He was also associated with large business inter- 
ests in Boston, and was always very successful 
in his investments. He left three sons: Henry 
Newell, bom in Boston, May 18, 1829; died 
February 11, 1904, in Cambridge. He was a 
member of the of the Cambridge School Board 
for many years, director of the First National 
Bank of Cambridge and trustee of the Cam- 
bridgeport Savings Bank. (2) Benjamin Rad- 
clifl, was bom in Boston, August 22, 1831; 
died in January, 1892. He was a member of 
the Cambridge City Council, trustee and member 
of the investment committee of the Cambridge- 
port Savings Bank, the Cambridge Club, and 
was an active member of the Prospect Street 
Church. (3) Frederick William Tilton, was 
bom in Cambridge, May 14, 1839, was educated 
in the Cambridge Schools, and graduated from 
Harvard University, A.B., 1862, and received 
the degree of A.M., 1865. He took a post- 
graduate course in the University of Gottingen, 
Germany, 1863-1864. He returned to this coun- 
try in 1864, and taught three years in the High- 
land Military Academy, Worcester, Mass., and in 
1867 was elected superintendent of the public 
schools of Newport, R.I. He became principal 
of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., in 1871; 
in 1873, he was appointed head master of Rogers 
High School, Newport, R.I., and held that posi- 
tion until 1890. He visited Europe, returned 
in 1894, and took up his residence in Cambridge, 
Mass., where he became a director in the Har- 
vard Trust Company, and a trustee and a mem- 
ber of the investment committee of the Cam- 
bridgeport Savings Bank; he has served as 
vice-president of the Bank since 1904. He was 
married July, 1864, to Ellen, daughter of John 
Howe and Adaline (Richardson) Trowbridge, 



granddaughter of John and Sally (Howe) Trow- 
bridge, and of James and Elizabeth Richardson 
and a descendant from Chief -Justice Trowbridge 
of Cambridge Colony under George III. Mrs. 
Tilton died in Cambridge, January 5, 1910, being 
survived by her husband and four children, 
namely: William F. Tilton, born February 24, 
1867, educated at Harvard and in Germany; 



^ e 



;►» 




BENJAMIN TILTON 

has German degree Ph.D.; writer on historical 
subjects. Benjamin T. Tilton, bom July 17, 
1868; A.B. Harvard, 1890; M.D. Germany, 
1893; surgeon in New York City. Ellen Maud, 
bom February 29, 1872, now Mrs. Frederic 
Atherton, Boston. Newell Whiting Tilton, 
bom October 26, 1878, A.B. Har\'ard, 1900; 
of the firm Harding, Tilton & Co., Boston, New 
York and Philadelphia. 



BENJAMIN VAUGHAN 
Vaughan, Benjamin, was the son of William 
Manning Vaughan and Anne Warren Vaughan, 
who was a great-niece of General Joseph Warren 
of Revolutionary fame. He was bom in Hallo- 
well, Maine, the 3d of November, 1837, and died 
in Cambridge, Mass., on the 2d of July, 1912. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



257 



He was married on the 8lh day of May, 1864, 
in Philadelphia, to Anna Harriet Goodwin, 
daughter of Rev. Daniel R. Goodwin, who was 
then Provost of the University of Pennsylvania 
and who had been President of Trinity College. 
He attended school at the old Hallowcll Acad- 
emy, which was quite a famous institution of 
learning in those days. He moved to Cambridge 
in 1857, and went into the office of Jerome G. 
Kiddor in Boston, who was doing a commission 




BEN'JA.MIN V.\UGH.AN 

business in oil and coal. He worked under 
Mr. Kidder and then in partnership with him, 
and finally established the Beacon Oil Company, 
of which he was president and the sole and active 
head. This Company became the Oil Company 
for New England, but in the eighties Mr. 
Vaughan sold it out to the Standard Oil Com- 
pany of New Jersey. After this, Mr. Vaughan 
took no active part in any oil business, but 
still continued to do business as a coal commis- 
sion merchant. He kept up this business until 
the 1st of January', 1912, when he retired, dis- 
soh-ing the partnership with Hcnn,' S. Mann, 
with whom he had been associated during the 
later years under the firm name of Vaughan & 
Mann. He, however, retained his office until 



the 1st of July, 1912, which was practically the 
date of his death. He thus was in business for 
over fifty-four years, and, at the date of his 
retirement, was the oldest m.-il rDmmission 
merchant in Boston. 

In 1863, Mr. Vaughan joined the "Home 
Guards" in Cambridge, and received a com- 
mission as 1st Lieutenant under Col. Charles F. 
Walcott in the 61st Massachusetts Regiment. 
He went to the Front, and was dangerously 
wounded at the battle of Petersburg in 1865; 
he was brevetled Ca]3tain, though his wound 
prevented his seeing any more ser\'ice at the 
Front. 

Mr. Vaughan was interested in several Cam- 
bridge institutions. At the time of his death 
he was a director in the Cambridge Trust Com- 
pany, and had been, since its formation and 
until a short time before he died, the treasurer 
of the Longfellow Memorial Association. He 
was one of the promoters in the establishment 
of the Cambridge Coffee House Association, 
which was organized and existed for a few years 
when the city first became no-license. 

He was an Episcopalian and had been a con- 
stant worshipper at St. John's Memorial Chapel 
for more than forty years, and was the last stor- 
\^vor of the original group which organized the 
Association of the Congregation in January, 
1871. He ser\-ed for many years as Vice- 
Chairman and subsequently as Chairman of the 
Committee of this Association ; and, in the words 
of the report from the present Committee of 
the Association, "his loss has removed a land- 
mark in our history as a Congregation." 

He was one of the originators and active in 
the management of the old Cambridge Dramatic 
Club, which, during the beginning of its ex- 
istence, gave its plays in one of the buildings 
of the old State Arsenal, which was situated 
on Arsenal Square between Chauncey and 
Follen Streets. 

He foimd his chief recreation in out-of-door 
life, particularly in shooting and on the water, 
yachting or canoeing while camping in Maine. 
Of late years he regularly went for some weeks 
ever\- winter to the South for shooting. Part 
of the summer he always spent in yachting along 
the Maine coast and ]jart at Hallowell in the old 
homestead where he was bom and in which five 
generations of the familv have lived. 



258 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Mr. Vaughan was a member of the Com- 
mercial and Union Clubs of Boston; the Brook- 
line Country Club; the Eastern, Massachusetts 
and Portland Yacht Clubs; the Oakley Country 
Club; Colonial Club of Cambridj;e and several 
shooting clubs. He was, also, a member of a 
Dining Club in Cambridge composed of a dozen 
well-known Cambridge men. He was, however, 
not at all a clubman in the usual sense of the 
word, but spent most of his time with and for 
his family. 

He was a support and an adviser for many 
people and helped many, but always most 
unostentatiously, so that even members of 
his immediate family did not know until after 
his death how much he did for others. His 
quiet modesty and unselfishness were excep- 
tional, and he was pre-eminently endowed with 
common sense and ability to diagnose and judge 
rightly intricate business problems and, also, 
public questions. In his later years, particu- 
larly, he followed the complications and evolu- 
tions in business and politics with close interest, 
and his sane judgment and wise conclusions 
impressed all who came in contact with him. 
Many men prominent in affairs at home and 
in the South — where reconstruction and the up- 
building of industries are still going on — with 
whom he talked or came in contact, were openly 
impressed by his broad and sound views and 
felt his influence. He was a valuable citizen 
who stood for the right and for conservative 
advancement, with a broad-minded view of 
affairs which made him of benefit to the com- 
munity in which he lived. 



HENRY PICKERING WALCOTT, M.D. 

Walcott, Henry Pickering, physician, was 
bom at Salem, Mass., December 23, 1838, being 
the son of Samuel Baker and Martha (Pickman) 
Walcott. He graduated from Harvard in 1858, 
studied medicine at the Harvard Medical School 
and Bowdoin College, and received his degree 
of M.D. from the latter in 1861. He spent two 
years in Vienna and Berlin. From 1867 to 1881, 
he was engaged in the active practice of medicine 
in Cambridge. Since 1881, however, he has 
devoted his time to the State Board of Health, 
and has been chairman of it since 1886. Por- 
tions of the reports of that board have been 



written by him, and he is also the author of 
various reports upon the water supply and the 
drainage of Massachusetts. Dr. Walcott has 
been prominent in movements promoting public 
health. He is a member of the Massachusetts 
Medical Society, Massachusetts Historical So- 
ciety, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
American Public Health Association, American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, Board of Presi- 
dent and Fellows of Harvard University, and 
an honorary fellow of the Royal Sanitary In- 
stitute of Great Britain. 



ROBERT WALCOTT 

Walcott, Robert, is the son of Dr. Henry 
P. Walcott, LL.D., president of the Massa- 
chusetts General Hospital and of the Cambridge 
Hospital, chairman of the State Board of Health, 
and a member of the Metropolitan Water Board. 

He is associated in the practice of law with 
Hon. Herbert Parker, formerly Attorney-Gen- 
eral; James F. Jackson, ex-chainnan of the 
Board of Railway Commissioners; and Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Frothingham, having offices 
at Barristers' Hall, Boston. 

He has continued to live in Cambridge, where 
he was bom, since his marriage, in 1899, to the 
daughter of Dr. Maurice H. Richardson. 

He graduated from Harvard College in 1895, 
and, after spending a year travelling in India 
and China, from the Harvard Law School in 
1899. 

He is a member of the Union Club, Tennis 
and Racquet Club, Oakley Country Club, and 
of the Cambridge Club; secretary of the Cam- 
bridge Boat Club; secretary of the Longfellow 
Memorial Association; director of the Cam- 
bridge Homes for Aged People; director of the 
Prospect Union; member of the corporation 
of the Cambridge Savings Bank, and president 
of the Cambridge Neighborhood House. 

He was appointed, in 1904, by Governor 
Douglas, special justice of the Third District 
Court, which includes Cambridge, Belmont 
and Arlington. 

Judge Walcott's recreations are swimming, 
canoeing, yachting and travel, he having accom- 
panied Mr. William Brooks Cabot in his ex- 
ploration of the Assawaban River district in 
Labrador, in 1904, and having been a member 



• ^'V. 






i 



BlonRAPHIES 



259 



of the party that made the first ascent of Mount 
Mummcrj' in the Canadian Roclcies in 1906. 

He is an officer of the Harvard Travelers' 
Club. He has a record sw-im of ten miles across 
Buzzards Bav. 



WALTER C. WARDWELL 
Wardwell, Walter C. ex-Mayor of Cani- 
bridge, Mass., and a Deputy Sheriff of Middle- 
sex County, was bom in Richmond, Va., Janu- 
ary 27, 1859. His father, the late Bumham 




WALTER C. WARDWELL 

Wardwell, was a native of Maine, w-ent to Vir- 
ginia pre\-ious to the Civil War, and, refusing 
to take the oath of allegiance to the Southern 
Confederacy, was pressed into scr\-ice in 1861. 
With much peril he made his escape to the Union 
lines, and, joining the Northern army, served 
under General Butler at Fortress Monroe and 
Dutch Gap. He served upon the grand jury 
which indicted Jefferson Davis for high treason; 
and after the close of the war he was appointed 
by General Schofield warden of a penitentiary. 
Through his efforts the whipping-post was 
banished from nearly every locality where it 
had previously been used, and his successful 
work in that field of philanthropy gained for 
him much distinction throughout the United 
States. 

Walter C. Wardwell began his education in 
the South, and completed it in the public schools 



of Cambridge. He was employed for twelve 
years in the civil engineer's department of the 
city of Boston, and in 1893 was appointed 
Deputy Sheriff of Cambridge. He ser\'ed in the 
Cambridge City Council in 1894 and 1895. and 
then as alderman for four years, the last two as 
president. He was mayor from Januar>', 1907, 
to April. 1909, serving the extra three months 
on account of a change in the fiscal year. 

In 1878 he enlisted in the Cambridge City 
Guard. Company B, Fifth Regiment, under 
Captain William A. Bancroft (now major gen- 
eral), and afterward served in Battery C, First 
Light Artillery, later being sergeant, major, 
adjutant and quartermaster of the First Bat- 
talion of Cavalr}'. He is at present president 
of the newly-formed Cambridge City Guard 
\'etcran Corps. 

Besides being connected with the Board of 
Trade and other institutions, Mr. Wardwell is 
prominent in Masonic circles. He is a past 
member of Mount Olivet Lodge, and is a mem- 
ber of Cambridge Chapter, and Cambridge 
Commandery, K.T. He is a past district 
deputy grand master in the "Blue Lodge." 

Air. Wardwell was married in Cambridge, 
in January, 1898, to the daughter of Austin 
Kingsley Jones, the old bell ringer at Har\-ard 
College. For many years the Wardwell home 
has been at 465 Broadway. There are two 
daughters. Misses Grace and Georgianna, and 
one son, Austin. 



FISHER— WELLINGTON 
r George Fisher, eldest child of Jabez and 
Sarah (Livcrmore) Fisher, was bom in Cam- 
bridge, February 15, 1820. He took the full 
course in the public and high schools of Cam- 
bridge, and a partial law course at Harvard 
University Law School, and was made a mem- 
ber of the Law School Association. He suc- 
ceeded his father in the coal and wood business 
in 1845, and after carrying it on for several 
years sold it out and became a partner in the 
firm of Simmons & Fisher, organ builders in 
Charles Street, Boston. On March 30, 1859, 
he purchased the Cambridge Chronicle, and 
made the paper a profitable investment, and 
in 1859-18Gfi it had no competition in Cam- 
bridge. In 187;? he sold the newspaper plant 



260 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



to Linn Boyd Porter. In the Chronicle he 
advocated anti-slavery, temperance and Ameri- 
canism as opposed to the "perilous encroach- 
raents" of the Roman Catholic church. He 
represented his district in the General Court 
in 1885. He founded the Cambridge Con- 
servatory of Music in 1873, and with the assist- 
ance of his daughter and other instructors, 
taught music to large classes for several years. 
He was a well-known expert performer on the 
organ, and held positions at various times in 
the largest churches in Cambridge. He made 
a discriminating collection of music, both 
printed and in manuscript, and was one of the 
earliest members of the Handel and Haydn 
Society of Boston, and a member of the govern- 
ing board. The large Cambridge chorus that 
attracted so much notice at the World's Peace 
Jubilee was organized and trained by Mr. 
Fisher. He was a friend and benefactor to 
Elias Howe in his struggle to introduce the 
sewing machine, and gave his financial aid at 
a time when Mr. Howe appeared to him hope- 
lessly in debt, and while the application for a 
patent was pending he accompanied Mr. Howe 
to Washington, and they each wore a suit of 
clothes made upon the machine which was 
the patent office model. He was married 
March 16, 1840, to Hannah Cordelia, third 
child of Samuel P. and Eunice S. Teele, who 
was bom in Charlestown, October 9, 1818, and 
died July 3, 1894. She was a member of the 
Austin Street Unitarian church, Cambridge. 
George Fisher died in Cambridge, September 
12,1898. Their children were : Sarah Cordelia, 
born 1841, married, November 29, 1887, to 
Colonel Austin C. W^ellington. Caroline Louise, 
bom 1843, married Colonel Austin C. Well- 
ington, as his first wife, June 30, 1869, and 
she died November 23, 1879. George, bom 
in 1845, died in 1846. Anna Josephine, bom in 
1847; died in 1851. Harriet Ellen, bom in 
1849; died in 1850. Lizzie Livermore, bom 
in 1850; died in 1853. Eliza Bennett, bom in 
1853; died in 1875. George, bom in 1855; 
died in 1860. George WiUiam, bom in 1858; 
died in 1876. George Fisher outlived all his 
children except Sarah Cordelia. He had no 
grandchildren. A scholarship in Harvard 
Law School has been contributed by his 
daughter in memoriam of George Fisher. 



Sarah Cordelia (Fisher) Wellington, 
eldest child of George and Hannah Cordelia 
(Teele) Fisher, and the last surviving member 
of a large family, was bom in Cambridge, 
Mass., October 10, 1841. She was graduated 
at the Cambridge high school, attended Pro- 
fessor Louis Agassiz's school and received 
musical instruction in London, England, from 
Senor Randegger and Madam Rudersdorf, 
and while in Europe in 1876, attended the 
first performance of Wagner's " Niebelungen- 
leid," at Bayreuth. She married her brother- 
in-law. Colonel Austin Clarke Wellington, 
November 29, 1887, eight years after the death 
of his first wife, Caroline Louise (Fisher) 
Wellington. Colonel Wellington had no chil- 
dren by either wife. He was a son of Jonas 
Clarke and Harriet Eliza (Bosworth) Welling- 
ton, and was bom in Lexington, July 17, 1840, 
where he attended school up to 1856, when his 
parents removed to Cambridge, and he became 
a bookkeeper in the establishment of S. G. 
Bowdlear & Company, of Boston, and left 
the firm in August, 1862, to enlist in Company 
F, Thirty-eighth Massachusetts Regiment, 
and accompanied the regiment to Baltimore, 
New Orleans, and on the Red River expedition 
under General N. P. Banks. In July, 1864, 
he was transferred to Washington, D.C, and 
was in the army of General Sheridan during 
the closing period of the Civil War. He was 
acting adjutant of his regiment, with the rank 
of lieutenant, and later was appointed adju- 
tant. His battles were: Bisland, Siege of Port 
Hudson, Cane River Ford, Mansura in Louisi- 
ana, and with Sheridan in Opequan, Fisher's 
Hill and Cedar Creek, Virginia. He was 
mustered out of the volunteer service, June 30, 
1865. Upon returning to Massachusetts he 
engaged in the coal business, and formed the 
corporation of the Austin C. Wellington Coal 
Company, of which he was treasurer and 
manager, and this grew into one of the largest 
concerns in its time, in New England. He 
continued his interest in military affairs, and 
May 2, 1S70, entered the Massachusetts State 
Militia as captain of the Boston Light Infantry, 
known as the "Tigers," Company A, Seventh 
Regiment. He was elected major of the 
Fourth Battalion in 1873, and colonel of the 
First Regiment, Febmary 24, 1882. His 






///?^:::^<^^^^-«><-^'^^<7z^> 



BIOGRAPHIES 



y,i 



patriotic spirit was kept alive by membership 
in the Grand Anny of the Rei)uhlic, his com- 
radeship datin}^ from 1867 in Post 15. In 
1874, he was chosen commander of Post No. 30, 
which post he helped to ort^anizc, and of which 
he was a charter member. He became com- 
mander of Post No. 113, in 1887, holding the 
position at the time of his death. He was a 
mcml)er of the Ancient and Honorable Artil- 
lery Company, and a trustee of the Soldier's 
Home at Chelsea. His business association 
was with the Boston Coal Exchange, of which 
he was chairman, and the Charles River Towing 
Company, of which he was president. He was 
president of the Boston Mercantile Librarj' 
Association, and a member of the New England 
Club, Handel and Haydn Society, and Cecilia 
Society. His service to his state in a civic 
capacity was as a member of the General Court 
of Massachusetts, in 1875 and 1876. Colonel 
Wellington died at his home, 871 Massachusetts 
Avenue, Cambridge, September 23, 1888. His 
widow, Mrs. Sarah Cordelia (Fisher) Welling- 
ton, surxnved him. She was president of the 
Ladies' Aid Association, auxiliary to the Soldier's 
Home at Chelsea; a director of the Cambridge 
Conser\'ator}- of Music, founded by her father, 
and allied with other philanthropic, religious 
and musical associations. Her musical talent 
was an inheritance from both her parents. 
She early sang in the choir in Cambridge and 
Boston. Her voice was heard for repeated 
seasons at Trinity Church, New Old South, 
Immanuel, and for nine seasons at the Park 
Street Church. She was a member of the 
Handel and Haydn Oratorio Society and of 
the Cecilia Society, and represented both 
societies at various times as soloist at their 
concerts in Music Hall, Boston. She was 
president of the Austin Street Unitarian Alli- 
ance, the largest in the United States, and of 
the South Middlesex Alliance, which met in 
Channing Hall, Boston. She was made a 
director of the National Alliance board; a 
member of the council of the Cantabrigia Club ; 
and \ace-presidcnt; a member of the Woman 
Sufltrage League; of the Cambridge Shakes- 
peare Club, and of the Browning Society, of 
Boston. She served as secretary and treasurer 
of the Roundabout Club; as president of the 



Wednesday Club, and as a director and vice- 
president of the Young Women's Christian 
Association. She was made a life memlxT of the 
New England Woman's Club, of the Woman's 
Educational and Industrial Union, and of the 
American Unitarian Association; an associ- 
ate member of the Cambridge Conferences, 
and vicc-president-at-large of the Woman's 
Christian Tc-mpcrance Union; for several years 
president of the Daughters of Massachusetts. 
Her interest in the Cambridge Conservator}' 
of Music on Lee Street, began in 1873, when 
with her father she founded the enterprise. 
She was a member of <he faculty of Wellesley 
College and of the Tourjee Conservatory of 
Music in Boston. She sang by request in one 
of the Montreal cathedrals; appeared as accom- 
panist with Camilla Urso, the celebrated vio- 
linist, and was always a willing volunteer on 
occasions for charity, given in ojxsra, concerts, 
or at society functions. Her home in Cam- 
bridge became a mecca for musical enthusiasts 
\'isiting Boston, who had heard her in public 
or learned of her work as teacher, through her 
pupils scattered over the entire United States, 
who had been fortunate in receiving her in- 
struction and advice. 



WILLIAM WILLIAMSON WELLINGTON 

Wellington, Willlwi Willl\mson, was 
bom in West Cambridge, now kno^vn as Arling- 
ton, July 29, 1814. His parents were Timothy 
and Maria Eunice (Lord) Wellington, and he 
was educated at home under the personal in- 
struction of his father; at the academy of John 
Angiers in Medford, and at Harvard University. 
He began the practice of medicine in 1838, and 
had continued it successfully up to the time of 
his death. Dr. Wellington was a member of sev- 
eral medical and scientific societies, among them 
being the Obstetrical Society of Boston and the 
Medical Improvement Society of Cambridge. 

Dr. Wellington had always taken an active 
interest in educational matters, and was prom- 
inent in the social circles of his city. He 
served for forty years on the School Committee. 
He married, September 30, 1841, Lucy Eliza- 
beth Carter, of Lancaster, and October 5, 1857, 
Martha Bond Carter, of Lancaster. 



262 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



HENRY JACKSON WELLS 
Wells, Henry Jackson, was born in Charles- 
town, Mass., November 16, 1823, died November 
24, 1912, son of Gideon Parker and Susannah 
(WelUngton) Wells, and was educated in the 
public schools. Previous to the commence- 
ment of the study of his profession, he engaged 




HENRY J.\CKS0X WELLS 

in mercantile pursuits in Boston and vicinity, 
and in 1848 and 1849 he lived in New Orleans. 
Going to California in 1849, he at once found 
employment as a clerk in the courts, and when 
the state government was established, was 
retained in that position for a number of years, 
during which time he studied law and was 
admitted to the bar. He practised his profession 
imtil 1863, when he was elected as judge of 
one of the courts of San Francisco. Previous to 
this he was a member of the board of education, 
president of the common council, and police 
commissioner. Through the trying times of 
President Lincoln's administration he held the 
position of chairman of the Republican com- 
mittee of the city and county of San Francisco. 
Returning to Massachusetts in 1866, he resided 
in Arlington, and served as a member of the 
school committee. He removed to Cambridge, 
in 1877, and since that time was engaged in the 
practice of law in Boston. He was a member 
of the House of Representatives in 1880, 1881, 
and 1882, and was in the State Senate in 1883 
and 1885, establishing a reputation as a legis- 
lator, and an authority on parliamentary pro- 
cedure. Mr. Wells had been active in political 



life, having been chairman of the Republican 
City Committee of Cambridge for a number of 
years, and a member of the state committee 
for eleven years, and for seven years of that 
time its treasurer. He was a member of the 
Massachusetts, Middlesex, and Cambridge Clubs 
and of the Society of California Pioneers of 
San Francisco, and president of the Society 
of Cahfornia Pioneers of New England. Judge 
Wells was married, in 1856, to Miss Maria 
Adelaide Goodnow, of Boston, Mass., daughter 
of Lyman and Rebecca D. Goodnow. Mrs. 
Wells died in 1904, but their five children sur- 
vive: Harrison G. Wells, of Chicago; Mrs. A. 
W. Cross, who kept house for her father in 
Cambridge; Mrs. Mary W. Stickncy, of Arling- 
ton; Mrs. Henrietta W. Liverpool, of New York; 
and Wellington Wells, of Boston. As one of 
the California Pioneers of 1849, it was his privi- 
lege to have a part in laying the foundations 
of the State. 



WILLIAM LAMBERT WHITNEY 

Whitney, Willl\m Lambert, was born in 
Cambridge, March 11, 1811; died in Cambridge, 
May, 1900. He was the son of Abel and Susanna 




\ViLLL\.\l LA.MBERT \VHIT.\EV 



BIOGRAPHIES 



263 



Whitney, and received his education in the 
Cambridge schools and at Bradford Academy, 
Bradford, Mass. Mr. Whitney was for many 
years active in mercantile pursuits but retired 
from business in 1850. He always lived in 
Cambridge, and always took a lively interest 
in the material and social well-being of the 
city. He was one of the original members of 
the first city council of Cambridge. At the 
semi-centennial celebration of our city in 1S9G, 
Mr. Whitney was invited to take part in the 
celebration as the honored guest of his native 
city, but was obliged to decline, on account 
of feeble health and advanced years. He was 
treasurer of the Cambridge Savings Bank for 
several years, and director of the American 
Unitarian Association for about ten years, 
resigning in ISSS. 

Mr. Whitney was married, October IS, 1836, 
to Lucy A. Jones, of the city of Cambridge, 
and on July 2S, 1S40, to Rebecca R. Brackett, 
of Quincy, Mass. He died in Cambridge, 
May 29, 1900, being survived by Lucy A. 
Whitney, William L. Whitney, Jr., and Mrs. 
Julia A. Wright. 



WILLIAM HASKELL WOOD 

Wood, Willi.\m H.\skell, for a number of 
years a leading lumber merchant of Cambridge, 
was bom in Hudson, Mass., January 18, 1847, 
a son of Alonzo W'ood of that town. The 
family of which he was a representative has been 
established in Middlesex County more than 
two hundred years, the records of Concord 
showing that Jacob Wood, son of Michael, was 
bom there in 1662. Jacob's son Ephraim was 
the father of Peter Wood, a native of Concord, 
who settled in Marlboro. Jedediah Wood, son 
of Peter and Sybil (Howe) Wood, was born in 
Marlboro, May 16, 1777. His business was 
cloth-dressing; and he lived for twenty years 
at "The Mills," where he was one of the earliest 
settlers. He died in 1867. Jedediah Wood 
married, in 1801, Miss Betsey Wilkins, and had 
seven children, one of his sons being Colonel 
William H. Wood, and another Alonzo, the 
father of the above-named, who was bom in 
Hudson, Mass. Alonzo Wood devoted his 
energies to the lumber business. He married, 
and had three children: Frank J., Eliza Ann 
and WiUiam Haskell. 



William Haskell Wood spent his Ixjyhood 
days in Hudson, attending school and working 
in his father's lumber mill. When he was about 
seventeen years of age he went to Boston, with 
the hope of improx-ing his prospects; but an 
attack of illness caused him to return to Hudson 
within a year, and he remained in his native 
town until he was twenty. He then secured 
emplojnncnt in Cambridge with Gale Dudley 
& Co., and after five years he formed a partner- 
ship with George W. Gale, a son of his employer. 




W1LLI.\M H.\SKELL Wi • . 

and with him succeeded to the business. In 
1881 they dissolved partnership, and Mr. Wood 
bought out Burrage Brothers, whose wharf, 
at the junction of Broadway, Third and Main 
Streets, was enlarged under his ownership. 
It now comprises the Fisk Wliarf on Main Street 
and the Day and Collins Wharf adjoining. Mr. 
Wood was the senior member of the firm of 
Wood & Baker, who were owners of large Iximber 
mills in Tennessee and North Carolina. 

In September, 1874, Mr. Wood was united 
in marriage to Miss Anna M., daughter of 
Samuel and Lucy Dudley. They had five 
children, two of whom are now li\-ing. 

Mr. \\'ood was well advanced in Masonrj'. 
belonging to Mizpah Lodge, F.&A.M.; Cam- 
bridge Arch Chapter; and Boston Commanden.-, 
Knights Templar. He was an attendant at 
the First Universalist Church. 

Mr. Wood died at Florida, March. 1912. being 
sur\ivcd by his widow, one son and one daughter. 



264 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



JAMES ADAMS WOOLSON 

WooLSON, James Adams, a leading citizen 
of Cambridge, was bom in Hopkinton, Middle- 
sex County, Mass. He was the elder son of 
James Rix and Eda (Adams) Woolson. He 
was fitted for college at the Old Gates Academy, 
in Marlboro, of which the noted 0. W. Albee 
was the preceptor. Mr. Albee afterwards 
entered public life as a member for several 
years of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate. In consequence of circumstances en- 
tirely beyond his control, young Woolson was 
obliged to abandon entering Harvard Univer- 
sity, as was his desire, and as had been the 
purpose and intention of his parents. 

About this time, in 1846, his uncle, Hon. 
Lee Claflin, and his son, ex-governor William 
Clafiin, gave him a position as boy in their 
store in Boston. Not many years after this, 
Lee Clafiin retired /rom active business alto- 
gether, devoting his time thereafter to the 
care of his large property, and to charitable, 
benevolent and philanthropic work. From 
that time, Mr. Woolson had been associated 
in business with ex-Governor Claflin as boy, 
clerk and partner for upwards of fifty years — 
which length of time is something very remark- 
able in these days of frequent changes. He 
was, at the time of his death, a stockholder 
in the corporation of H. Brigham & Gregory 
Co. This company succeeded Y. Brigham & 
Co., and Gregory, Shaw & Co. The latter 
firm followed William Claflin, Coburn & Co. 
and William Claflin & Co., who were the direct 
successors of the original house established by 
Hon. George Claflin in 1815. Until a few 
years ago, the firms occupied the store built 
for them at 136 Summer Street, opposite South 
Street, Boston, which was the site of Daniel 
Webster's home. He was also one of the in- 
corporators of the Suffolk Savings Bank, of 
Boston. 

Mr. Woolson was a member of the firm of 
Loring, Tolmant Tripp, bankers, Boston, and 
their predecessors. He contributed generously 
in many ways in the time of the Civil War, was 
drafted, but could not pass examination, and 
sent a substitute in his place, in the meantime 
caring materially for his family while he was 
in the field, and afterwards. He was a member 
of the Eastern Yacht Club, Massachusetts, 



Cambridge, Colonial and Union Clubs, and some 
fifteen or more other organizations, though 
not really regarding himself as a club man in 
the ordinary acceptation of that term. He 
was a director in the North Bank of Redemp- 
tion, and previously in the Shoe and Leather 
Bank and the Revere. He was vice-president 
of the Boston Five Cent Savings Bank, a 




JAMES ADAMS WOOLSON 

director of the First National Bank of Cam- 
bridge, and was identified with the Cambridge- 
port Savings Bank. He had steadily refused 
to accept offers of political preferment, think- 
ing he had not the time to attend to public 
duties properly, and always feeling that there 
were many others of his fellow-citizens who 
were much better fitted for such positions than 
he was; as a matter of duty, however, he 
served in the city government. 

Mr. Woolson, when a clerk, was librarian, 
director, treasurer, vice-president and presi- 
dent of the Old Mercantile Library Associa- 
tion, and gave cheerfully much good, solid 
hard work to help it obtain the influence and 



BIOGRAPHIES 



265 



prosperity which it certainly enjoyed in an 
eminent degree throughout the city in its day. 
At the time he was president, 1853 and 1854, 
the association numbered two thousand five 
hundred of the merchants' clerks of the city 
of Boston. This was before the days of the 
public library, Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion and Union, and when the merchants and 
their clerks lived in town, and not in the 
suburbs, as now. "The Old M.L.A." was a 
great power for good in those days, say between 
the years 1840 and 18G0. 

In 1859, Mr. Woolson was married to Miss 
Annie Williston Dickinson, of Boston. Her 
grandfather, John Williston, was an officer 
in the custom house under General Benjamin 
Lincoln, the first collector of the port of 
Boston, who was appointed by President 
George Washington. Mr. Williston died young, 
from the effects of a severe cold caused by 
exposure at the time of the Embargo. Her 
father was Daniel Dickinson, of Old Hadley, 
Mass., who was of the Dickinson family and 
ancestry of Amherst, Hadley and that vicinity. 
Her family on both sides took an active part 
in the Colonial Wars, the War of the Revolu- 
tion, War of 181 2, and in the War of the Rebel- 
lion; her only brother. Lieutenant Dickinson, 
gave his life for his country. His name is 
on the soldiers' monument on Cambridge 
Common. A number of Mr. Woolson's an- 
cestors did duty in the Revolutionary War, 
and several of his relatives on both sides of 
the house gave their services, and some their 
lives, in the War of the Rebellion. 

Mr. Woolson died at his home in Cambridge, 
at the age of seventy-four years, January 25, 
1904, and is survived by a widow, and also by 
two daughters, Mrs. James L. Paine and Mrs. 
Byron S. Hurlburt. 



BENJAMIN F. WYETH 
Wyeth, Benjamin Fr.\nklin, was born 
in Cambridge, December, 1845; died, August 
7, 1909, and had always lived here. His 
ancestors settling in Cambridge in 1(145. He 
attended the Cambridge schools, graduating 
from the old Washington Grammar School. 
For a number of years Mr. Wyeth was employed 
in the store of James H. Wyeth. In 1890, his 
father, Benjamin Francis Wyeth, died. He had 



established, in 18.50, an undertaking business 
in Harvard Square, which is believed to be the 
oldest in the city today. Upon his death, the 
business was taken up by Mr. Wyeth, in com- 
pany with his brother, Henry A. Wyeth, as 
Wyeth Bros. This continued until 1901, when 
his brother died. Mr. Wyeth then carried on 
the business alone for about a year, when his 
son, Benjamin F. Wyeth, Jr., became a member 




BENJAMIN F. WYETH 

of the firm, and has continued same until the 
present time. He will hereafter carry on the 
business, assisted by his brother Hcnr>' D. 
Wyeth, at 3.'? Brattle Street, where the office 
has been located since it was moved from 
Harvard Square. Mr. Wyeth was well known 
in a two-fold capacity — as a Harvard Square 
business man and as sexton of the First Church, 
Congregational. His father was for thirty- 
nine years the church sexton and upon his 
death, in 1890, Mr. Wyeth succeeded him in 
the position, holding it up to the time of his 
death. He was regarded as a fixture in this 
old, conservative church, and, when he talked 
of resigning, the church prevailed upon hira 
to remain, and voted to give him an assistant. 



266 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



and in this manner the work had gone on since 
that time. 

Mr. Wyeth married in 1876, Caroline E., 
daughter of Joseph Bird, of Watertown, who 
survives him. His sons and daughter are: 
Marion B., Herbert F., Benjamin F., Jr., and 
Henry D. His three sisters all live in Cam- 
bridge: Mrs. L. F. West, Miss Zoa A. Wyeth, 
and Miss Alice A. Wyeth. His brother, John 
B. Wyeth, lives in Philadelphia. 

Mr. Wyeth was a veteran of the Civil War, 
having served as a member of the Twelfth 
Unattached Company, M.V.M., and going into 
the service in place of his father, who was a 
member of the organization. This was a 
Cambridge company, raised by Dr. S. W^. Driver 
and others. Mr. Wyeth was also a member 
of Harvard Council, Royal Arcanum. In 
previous years he had been a Mason and an 
Odd Fellow, but he had not kept up his mem- 
bership in either order for some time. He was 
a member of the Massachusetts Undertakers' 
Association, and of the Massachusetts Social 
Club of Undertakers. 



did consent, however, to serve as a member of 
the city government in 1860. During his term 
he gave evidence of having a thorough under- 
standing of public questions. 



JAMES HICKS WYETH 

Wyeth, James Hicks, merchant, was born 
at Watertown, Mass., on the 24th of July, 1830, 
being the son of Jonas and Elizabeth N. (Flagg) 
Wyeth. The family moved to Cambridge, and 
the boy received his education in the public 
schools of this city. Immediately after leaving 
school he went to work. 

About 1853 Mr. Wyeth, in partnership with 
Thomas Hayes, opened a grocery store on Boyls- 
ton Street, Harvard Square. Afterwards quar- 
ters directly opposite were occupied. Here 
for many years the business was carried on by 
the firm of J. H. Wyeth and Company. The 
constantly increasing volume of trade led to the 
organizing of a corporation, the J. H. Wyeth 
Company. This has enabled Mr. Wyeth to 
leave the active management to others; but 
he shows that he still has an interest in the 
welfare of the concern, for he may be frequently 
found at his desk there. 

While always willing and ready to help in 
furthering the progress of Cambridge, Mr. 
Wyeth has been averse to holding office. He 




J.\MES HICKS WYETH 



By his marriage to Maria C. Warland, he 
has had three children: James D., who died in 
May, 1912; Elizabeth F. and Walter F. His 
home is in Cambridge. 



JOHN PALMER W^YMAN 

Wyman, John Palmer, lawyer, was bom 
at West Cambridge, now Arlington, Mass., 
March 7, 1852. He is the son of John P. 
Wyman, born July 31, 1815, who died July 1, 
1891, and Margaret Richardson, bom January 
26, 1823, who died August 29, 1911. The sub- 
ject of this sketch was graduated from the Boston 
Latin School in June, 1870, being a Franklin 
Medal Scholar; from Har\^ard College, A.B., 
in 1874, and Harvard Law School, LL.B., in 
1876. 

On October 10, 1877, he was married to Emma, 
daughter of John P. Squire, and went to live 
at 23 Lafayette Street, Cambridge, which is 



BIOGRAPHIES 



267 



still his home. Four children were bom 
of this marriage: Mary Squire, liom August 5, 
1881, who is now the wife of Owen Eugene 
Pomeroy and lives in New York; John Palmer, 
Jr., born July 15, 1884; Samuel Edwin, 2d, bom 
Febmar>' 17, 1887, who died March 6, 1890; 
Margaret Gwendolen, born June 20, 1898. The 
elder daughter, Mrs. Pomeroy, graduated from 
the Cambridge Latin School in 1900, and from 




JOHN P.AL.MER \VVM.\.N 

Radcliffe in 1903, with the degree of A.B., 
receiving that of A.M. in 1905. His son John 
attended the Cambridge Latin School, graduated 
in 1903, matriculated at Harvard, but left in 
the middle of his freshman year to engage in 
business. 

Mr. Wyman himself on leaving college had 
not immediately begun the practice of law. 
Business and travel had occupied him largely 
up to the fall of 1880. In November of that 
year he was admitted to the Suffolk Bar. Since 
then he has been at 30 Court Street, Boston, 
where he has taken caie of the interests of a 
large number of clients, quietly but efficiently. 

Mr. \V\Tnan has been a member of the Old 
Cambridge Baptist Church since 1878, and has 



served on the board of directors since about 
1884. He belongs to no clubs, preferring to 
spend his leisure hours with his family. 

Mr. Wyman's first \vife died January 2, 1910. 
Mr. VV>Tnan's second marriage, to Miss LcUa 
C. Wood, took place October 16, 1912. 

His twin brother, Samuel Edwin, practised 
medicine in this city, and resided at the comer 
of Mount Auburn Street and Putnam Avenue. 
He married Annie Goodale Gooch. He died 
May 15, 1896, sur\nved by his wife. He had 
no children. 



LE BARON RUSSELL BRIGGS 
Briggs, Le B.\ron Russell, educator, was 
born at Salem, Mass., December 11, 1855. He 
graduated from Harvard in 1875, receiving his 
degree of A.M. in 1882. The honorary' degree 
of LL.D. was given him by that institution in 
1900, and by Westem Reserve College in 1906. 
From 1885 to 1890 he was assistant professor, 
and since 1890 has been professor of English at 
Harvard. He was dean of the college from 1891 
to 1902. He has been dean of the Faculty of 
Arts and Sciences since 1902, and Boylston 
professor of Rhetoric and Oratorj' since 1904. 
He was elected i)residcnt of Radcliffe College 
in 1903, and still holds that office. He was 
married to Mary Frances De Quedx'ille, Sep- 
tember 5, 1883. 



JOHN J. CARTY 

C.\RTV, John J., was bom in Cambridge, 
Mass., April 14, 1861. His eariy education 
was obtained in the schools of Cambridge. At 
the time he had about finished his preparatory 
studies for college he was obliged, on account 
of a serious trouble with his eye-sight, to abandon 
his school work indefinitely. 

The telephone ha\4ng just been invented and 
being one of the first to appreciate its possi- 
bilities, Mr. Carty entered the service of the 
Bell Telephone Company, for which concern 
he has been at work ever since, ha\-ing to his 
credit more than thirty-two years of continuous 
service in its behalf. 

His first work was at Boston, and while there 
he made a number of contributions to the art 
of telephony which were of unusual value, and 
have since become a permanent part of the art. 



268 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



Under his direction was installed the first mul- 
tiple switchboard at Boston, which was at that 
time the largest ever put into use. For the 
"express" telephone system, peculiar to that 
city, he designed and installed a switchboard 
which was the first metallic circuit multiple 
board to go into service. The fundamental 
features of this board are at present in all the 
boards of today. 

In 1887 Mr. Carty took charge of the cable 
department of the Western Electric Company 
in the East, with headquarters at New York. 
In this capacity he studied cable manufacture 
and laying, and introduced a niunber of im- 
provements, having charge of all the important 
cable-laying projects which were carried on for 
some time in the East. One of his engineering 
developments resulted in cutting in half the 
cost of cable manufacture. He then took 
charge of the switchboard department of the 
Western Electric Company for the East, and 
under his direction were installed most of the 
large switchboards of that period, among which 
was the original Cortland Street multiple board. 
During this time he made a number of important 
improvements in switchboards, which have 
since become standard practice. 

He was the first to practically demonstrate 
how to operate two or more telephone circuits 
connected directly with a common battery, 
and about 1888 installed, for the supply of 
operators' telephones, common battery systems 
in a nimiber of central offices. From these 
early experiments has grown the modern system 
now generally employed. 

Although charged with serious practical en- 
gineering problems, Mr. Carty has found time 
to follow to some extent his strong natural 
inclination for original research. He made an 
exhaustive investigation into the nature of the 
disturbances to which telephone lines are sub- 
jected and gave the first public account of his 
work in a paper entitled, "A New View of Tele- 
phone Induction," read before the Electric Club 
on November 21, 1889. The view put forth in 
the paper was revolutionary, but, nevertheless, 
after being checked by numbers of experiments 
in this country and Europe received universal 
acceptance, and is the one now adopted in all 
works dealing with the subject. In this paper 
he showed the overwhelming preponderance 



of electrostatic induction as a factor in producing 
cross- talk, and proved that there is in a tele- 
phone line a particular point in the circuit at 
which, if a telephone is inserted, no cross-talk 
will be heard. The paper gave directions for 
determining this silent or neutral point, and 
described original experiments showing how to 
distinguish between electrostatic and electro- 
magnetic induction in telephone lines. 

On March 17, 1891, Mr. Carty made addi- 
tional contributions to the knowledge of this 
subject in a paper before the American Institute 
of Electrical Engineers, entitled "Inductive 
Disturbances in Telephone Circuits." This 
paper might better have been called "The The- 
ory of Transpositions," because in it was first 
made known precisely why twisting or trans- 
posing telephone lines renders them free from 
inductive disturbances. 

In 1889 he entered the service of the Metro- 
politan Telephone and Telegraph Company, 
now the New York Telephone Company, for 
the purpose of organizing all of the technical 
departments, building up its staff, and recon- 
structing the entire plant of the company — 
converting it from grounded circuits overhead 
and series switchboards to metallic circuits 
placed underground and to the then new bridg- 
ing switchboards. In carrying out this work 
he selected and trained a large staff of young 
men fresh from college, many of whom have 
since attained positions of prominence in the 
telephone field. In the development of the 
personnel of his department, Mr. Carty has 
taken a particular pride, looking to the welfare 
of those already engaged, and through his touch 
with prominent technical educators, adding 
each year to his staff, from the graduating 
classes of our principal technical schools. 

Mr. Carty's work in connection with the de- 
velopment of the plant of the New York Tele- 
phone Company has been most successfiol and 
far-reaching in its consequences. Based upon 
his plans and under his direction, there has been 
constructed a telephone system which, according 
to the foremost authorities in the world, is with- 
out a parallel in its efficiency and scope. His 
work has been studied and approved by all of 
the technical administrations of Etirope and 
even of Asia, and to a large extent what he has 
done for the telephone art in the United States 




Joiix J. C'arty 



BIOGRAPHIES 



269 



has contributed to the pre-eminent standing 
which the American telephone industry holds 
in all foreign countries. 

In recognition of his achievements as an en- 
gineer and in v'iew of the services which he 
rendered to the Japanese Government in con- 
nection with electrical engineering, he was deco- 
rated with the Order of the Rising Sun by the 
late Emperor of Japan, who, shortly before his 
death, again decorated Mr. Carty, conferring 
upon him the Order of the Sacred Treasure, for 
valuable services rendered to Japan and her 
people. In China, where a commission has 
recently investigated the telephone systems of 
the world, that of New York was selected as 
the model for Pekin, and as a consequence the 
first great order for a telephone system in China 
was given to American manufacturers. 

While for many years Mr. Carty's work was 
more particularly directed to the extraordinary 
problems of telephony presented by the great 
centers of population, it remained for him to 
accomplish a revolution in telephony of the 
greatest social and economic value to rural com- 
munities in all parts of the world. Prior to 
this work upon the subject, the number of tele- 
phone stations which could be operated upon 
one line was limited and the service was im- 
perfect. As a result of his solution of a problem 
presented by the New York Central Railroad 
in the city of New York, he devised a mechanism 
known as the "bridging bell," whereby any 
number of stations, even as many as a hundred, 
might be placed upon a line without in any way 
impairing the transmission of speech. This 
made possible the farmers' line, which is found 
by the hundreds of thousands in farmers' houses 
in America, and is now being extended abroad. 
For this achievement there was conferred upon 
him by the Franklin Institute the Edward 
Longstreth Medal of Merit. 

Mr. Carty is chief engineer of the American 
Tel'^phone and Telegraph Company, in which 
capacity he is responsible for the standardizing 
of methods of construction and operation of its 
vast plant, which extends into every community 
in the United States, and which, through its 
long-distance wires, extends into Canada and 
Mexico. 

He has been active in matters pertaining to 
the improvement of engineering education in 



its higher branches, and is a member of the 
Society for the Promotii)n of Engineering Educa- 
tion. In connection with the technical or what 
might be called the "trade school" feature of 
educational work, he has taken a lively interest 
and is an active member of the Society for the 
Promotion of Industrial Education, and is a 
member of the Millburn Board of Education 
in New Jersey. 

Mr. Carty has been prominent in the affairs 
of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 
of which he is vice-pre.sident and director. He 
is the past president of the New York Electrical 
Society; memljcr of the Society of Arts, and 
honorary member of the American Electro- 
Therapeutic Association, the Telephone Society 
of Pennsylvania, the Telephone Society of New 
England, and the Telephone Society of New 
York. 

He is a member of the F"riendly Sons of St. 
Patrick and the American-Irish Historical 
Society ; belongs to the Baltusrol and the Casino 
Clubs of Short Hills, and to the Engineers', 
Electric and Railroad Clubs of New York. 

In 1891 he married Miss Marion Mount 
Russell, of the Irish family of Russells and the 
the English Mounts, which has been distin- 
guished in the annals of the stage, the only 
present representative of which now upon the 
stage is Miss Annie Russell. He lives at Short 
Hills, N.J., and has one son, John Russell Carty, 
a youth of twenty-one years. 



FREDERICK SIMPSON DEITRICK 
Deitrick. Frederick Simpson, lawyer and 
member of Congress, was bom at New Brighton, 
Pa., on April 9, 1875, being the son of Frederick 
A. and Louisa (McKnight) Deitrick. His 
father was in the railroad business. Frederick 
Simpson Deitrick attended Geneva College, 
from which he received the degree of B.S. He 
then began the study of law at the Harvard 
Law School, graduated with the class of 1897 
and was given the degree of LL.B. Admitted 
to the Suffolk Bar in 1899, he has since engaged 
in general practice, becoming also a member of 
the United States District and Circtiit Court Bar. 
Mr. Deitrick represented Cambridge in the 
State Legislatiu-e for three terms, 1903, 1904 
and 1905. He was the Democratic candidate 
for Congress in 1906. Although defeated, he 



270 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



polled an unusually large vote, when it is re- 
membered that normally the district is strongly 
Republican. In 1912, however, he was suc- 
cessful in his contest with Frederick Dallinger, 
the Republican candidate, and was elected to 
Congress. 

Congressman Deitrick's home in Cambridge 
is on Massachusetts Avenue. His law offices are 
on State Street, Boston. He is a member of 
the Bar Association of Boston. 



CHARLES R. GRECO 

Greco, Charles R., architect, was bom in 

Cambridge on the 15th of October, 1873, being 

the son of Letterio and Catherine (Raggio) 

Greco. He attended the public schools of this 




CHARLES R. GRECO 

city, and then studied architecture at the Law- 
rence Scientific School. After this he entered 
the employ of Messrs. Wait and Cutter, with 
whom he remained from 1893 to 1899. In the 
latter year he became connected with Messrs. 
Peabody and Steams. He stayed in their office 
until 1907, when he began to practice for himself. 
Mr. Greco has made a special study of public 



buildings. Among those he has planned might 
be mentioned the following, which architectural 
critics declare to have been successfully designed, 
showing both individuality and practicability: 
Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Cambridge; 
St. Patrick's Church, Brockton; Church of the 
Blessed Sacrament, Jamaica Plain; Thomdike 
School, Cambridge; Charles Bulfinch School, 
Boston; Cambridge Theatre; Elks' Temple, 
Cambridge; Nautical Garden, Revere; Wyeth 
Square Fire Station, Cambridge. 




RESIDEN'CE OF CHARLES R. GRECO 

The professional and social organizations of 
which he is a member include the Boston Society 
of Architects, Boston Rotary Club, Catholic 
Union, Knights of Columbus, Cambridge Board 
of Trade and Cambridge Lodge of Elks. 

On the 16th of April, 1902, Mr. Greco was 
married to Miss Gertrude L. Hennessy. Their 
home is at 36 Fresh Pond Parkway in this city, 
and Mr. Greco's offices are in Boston, at 8 
Beacon Street. 



EDWIN BLAISDELL HALE 
Hale, Edwin Blaisdell, law>'er, was born 
at Orford, N.H., on the 16th of June, 1839. 
His parents were Aaron and Mary Hale. He 
graduated from Dartmouth College with the 
degree of A.B. in 1865. He attended the Har- 
vard Law School, and in 1875 graduated from 
that institution, receiving his degree of LL.B. 
Mr. Hale was admitted to the bar on September 
15, 1875. Since then, with the exception of a 
few years when he was superintendent of schools 





^'O-yyo-T^ ^Jcr^^K 



BIOGRAPHIES 



271 



in Cambridge, Mr. Hale has been, engaged in 
the practice of his profession. He is the senior 
member of the law firm of Hale and Dickerman, 
of Boston. Mr. Hale ser\-cd in the lower branch 
of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1878-1879. 



GEORGE HODGES 
Hodges, George, dean of the Episcopal Theo- 
logical School, was boni at Rome, N.Y., October 
6, 1856. He is the son of George Frederick and 
Hannah (Bullard) Hodges. He graduated in 
1877, and received the degree of A.M. in 1882 
from Hamilton College. Western University 
gave him the degree of D.D. in 1892, and Hobart 
College that of D.C.L. in 1902. He was or- 
dained deacon in 1881, and priest in 1882. He 
was assistant rector of Calvary Church, Pitts- 
burg, from 1881 to 1889, and rector from 1889 
to 1894. Dr. Hodges has been dean of the 
Theological School since 1894. He is president 
of the Associated Charities and the Cambridge 
South End House. Dr. Hodges has written 
many books and articles dealing with religion 
and ethics. 



ROBERT NOXON TOPPAN 
ToppAN, Robert Noxox, writer on histor- 
ical, economic and monetary subjects, was bom 
in Philadelphia, Pa., October 17, 1836, being the 
son of Charles and Laura Ann Toppan. His 
early education was received in his native city 
and in New York, whither the family had re- 
moved when he was twelve years old. He 
graduated from Harvard in 1858, and from the 



Columbia Law School in 1861. He entered a 
New York law office, but never practised. The 
following years, until 1880, were spent in Europe 
with his family. He came back to America 
that year, and on October 6th married Miss 
Sarah Moody Gushing of Ncwburyport. They 
went abroad, and after their return settled in 
Cambridge in 1882. Of the marriage four 
children were bom: Laura N., November 17, 
1881; Fanny Gushing (now Mrs. Benjamin 
Hurd of New Jersey), August 26, 1883; Gushing, 
November 25, 1886; and Charles Frederick, 
May 28, 1889. 

Mr. Toppan devoted his time to the study of 
history and economics, taking an especial inter- 
est in civil sendee reform and international 
coinage. Besides many pamphlets on monetary 
questions, his works include an extensive biog- 
raphy of Edward Randolph and a collection 
of biographies of natives of Ncwburyport. He 
was a member of the Numismatic and Anti- 
quarian Society of Philadelphia. Among the 
other organizations to which he belonged are the 
Massachusetts Historical Society, the American 
Antiquarian Society, the Colonial Society of 
Massachusetts, and the Century Club of New 
York. 

In order to further the study of Political 
Science, a subject which engaged much of his 
attention, he gave Harvard College one hundred 
and fifty dollars annually from 1880 to 1894, 
when he made a gift of three thousand dollars, 
the income from which is used for the Toppan 
Prize. 

Mr. Toppan died May 10, 1901. 



272 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



JOSEPH GOODNOW 

GooDNOW, Joseph, lumber merchant, son of 
Luther and Sally (Abbott) Goodnow, was born 
in Sudbury, Mass., June 16, 1814, and attended 
the district school there. He left his home in 
vSudbury in 1835, on reaching his majority, and 
enjjaged in the lumber business, becoming the 
senior member of the firm of Joseph Goodnow 
& Co., Boston. He was married in Boston, 
November 30, 1842, to Lucia M., daughter of 
Nathaniel and Hannah (Maynard) Rice, of 
Sudbury, Mass. 

Mr. Goodnow was a member of the Central 
Square Baptist Church in Cambridge, and in 
1871 was elected a deacon of the society, and 
was re-elected in 1881. He served as trustee 
of Tremont Temple of Boston for many years. 




JOSEPH GOODNOW 

and in his home church. At the close of Sunday 
School service on January 29, 1882, a stroke 
of apoplexy caused his death. The Central 
Square Baptist Church Society lost a servant 
who had worked faithfully for a generation. 
He is survived by Ella Josephine Boggs, born 
August 8, 1847; she was married January 12, 
1875, to Edwin P. Boggs. 



EDWIN P. BOGGS 

Boggs, Edwin P., a prominent resident of 
this city, was bom in Philadelphia. His father, 
Francis P. Boggs, a captain in the merchant 
marine, afterwards came to Cambridge to live. 
Edwin decided on a mercantile career. Engaged 
in the wholesale grocery trade, Mr. Boggs was 




EDWIN P. BOGGS 

also interested in lumber and shipping; four 
or five schooners belonged to him. He was 
connected with Richardson & Bacon until that 
firm was absorbed by the Bay State Fuel Com- 
pany, of which he then became a member. At 
the time of his death, Mr. Boggs was the owner 
of the concern of Joseph Goodnow & Company. 

Well known as a yachtsman, Mr. Boggs had 
been commodore of the Massachusetts Yacht 
Club, and when it was consolidated with the 
Hull Yacht Club, he was elected to the same 
office in the latter organization. He was a 
member of the Oak Bluffs and the New Bedford 
Yachting Association ; the Oakley Country Club 
and the Boston Athletic Association; and the 
old Union, the Colonial and the Cambridge 
Clubs, of this city. 

Mr. Boggs died at Falmouth, August 12, 1910, 
being survived by his wife, son and daughter. 



THE HARRY ELKINS WIDENER LIBRARY 



Gore Hall was disgracefully inadequate for 
the needs of America's oldest and greatest uni- 
versity. This old building, since 1841 the college 
library, has been demolished, and the Harry 
Elkins Widener Memorial Library will supersede 
it. 

Harvard gets this gift through the generosity 
of the mother of Harry Elkins Widener. She 
lost her husband and her son in the wreck of 
the Titanic. The husband, George D. Widener, 
was the son of P. A. B. Widener, whose gener- 
osity has been shown in many ways in and about 



course of a few years was to beccrme one of the 
finest collections of rare books in the world. 

Harry Elkins Widener, with his father, George 
D. Widener, was a passenger on the Titanic, of 
fateful memory. The young bibliophile had 
been pursuing his favorite quest in Europe — 
the search for books of sufficient value to have 
a place in his library. Among the rarities he 
had acquired was a first edition of Bacon's 
Essays. He prized the little volume so highly 
that he refused to entrust it to the mails, and 
carried it in his pocket on that trip across the 



j>:i06t>j.^.> :.o f^i-r^g 



^nrr 



fcrrr i« 




FRONT ELEVATION 



Philadelphia, the home city of the Widener 
family. Mrs. Widener is the daughter of the 
late WilHam Elkins. 

Harry Elkins Widener was bom in Phila- 
delphia in 1885, prepared for college at the High 
School at Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and was 
graduated from Har%'ard with the class of 1907. 
He was well-known at college and became a 
member of the Institute of 1770, the Delta 
Kappa Epsilon, the Phi Delta Psi, the Hasty 
Pudding Club and other student organizations. 
The Hansard librarians knew that this under- 
graduate was interested in books, but they did 
not realize that this youth just starting the 
twenties was already beginning what in the 



Atlantic which ended in the disaster of April, 
1912. The copy of the famous Essays went 
down with this lover of books to his grave in 
the sea. 

There is a certain poetic fitness in the asso- 
ciation of books and collector even in death; 
for Harry Elkins Widener lived with his books 
as few men have ever done. His library was 
his bedroom, and his waking gaze fell upon his 
cherished companions. 

After his death it became known that he had 
bequeathed his collection to Har^•ard College. 

What are the books which made his collection 
famous? To list them all would be impossible. 
In 1910 he issued privately a handsome catalogue 



274 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



of which one hundred and two copies were 
printed. Harvard has the copy numbered 
twenty-five. Since that Hst was made the col- 
lector had acquired many very valuable works, 
one of which is said to have cost him $25,000. 

A turning of the pages of the catalogue shows, 
however, that his library contained rare first 
editions, "association books" (volumes valuable 
because of the authors who have owned them, 
the inscriptions they contain, or the history of 



came from Watts-Dimton, the literary executor 
of Swinburne. 

There are large collections of drawings by 
Cruikshank, a volume of unpublished sketches 
by Aubrey Beardsley, and, not to mention any 
others, a book which the collector used to show 
with laughter to his friends. This was a presen- 
tation copy of the Ingoldsby Legends from the 
author to his friend, E. R. Moran. It happened 
that one of the pages had been left blank, and 






-K 






>"- ■ f 



.4^;:, 



r 



'^ r r r prr""T t r r'-tLni-H 




KA--,- . .. - ' 'I'J^'i J-. ■ 



SIDE ELEVATION, MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE 



their vicissitudes), extra-illustrated books, and a 
certain number of manuscripts. He owned the 
four folios of Shakespeare, first editions of the 
"Fairie Queene," of Ben Johnson's works, of 
"Robinson Crusoe," of "Gulliver's Travels," 
of "The Vicar of Wakefield," of the "Elegy in 
a Coimtry Churchyard," and others almost as 
famous. There were first editions and presenta- 
tion copies of Dickens, Thackeray, Browning, 
Tennyson and Stevenson, and many manuscripts 
from the period to which these writers belonged. 
The assembly of books by and about "R. L. S." 
was probably unique. Here is all that Steven- 
son ever wrote toward his autobiography, the 
original manuscript in a quarto blank book. 

There are autograph manuscripts of Swin- 
burne, including the pamphlet of 1872, in reply 
to Robert Buchanan's "The Fleshly School of 
Poetry," on one page of which appears the 
famous passage attacking Tennyson — a passage 
which was at once suppressed. Only three 
copies of the original leaf are known; this one 



here in the author's autograph appear these lines 
of clever verse: 

" By a blunder for which I have only to thank 
Myself, here's a page has been somehow left 

blank. 
Aha! My friend Moran, I have you. You'll 

look 
In vain for a fault in ONE page of my book." 

THOS. INGOLDSBY. 
These books make many times over the most 
valuable bequest the Harvard Library has re- 
ceived since 1638, when it was established by 
the modest bequest of three hundred and seventy 
books from John Harvard, for whom the uni- 
versity was named. 

The Widener bequest called attention once 
more to the insufficiencies of Gore Hall. Mrs. 
Widener immediately proposed to erect a suitable 
building or wing in which to shelter her son's 
books. Then she was shown the opportunity 
which had come to her for rendering a vast 
service to scholarship and education, and she 



EDUCATIONAL 



275 



notified President Lowell that she would like 
to pro\4de Har\-ard with the long-awaited 
library, a building to contain all the books of 
the college and to afford room for grow1.h. 

The new building will have a capacity for 
2,500,(X)0 volumes, almost five times the number 
which could be stored in Gore Hall. Thus the 
stack space will be about the same as that in 
the new Fifth Avenue building of the New York 
Public Library. The building will cover a little 
more ground space than the Public Library in 
Copley Square, Boston, and the reading room 
will contain about one hundred more square feet 
than the Bates Hall Reading Room in the Boston 
buUding. 

At the very heart of the great fire-proof struct- 
lu'e of brick and limestone which is to be erected 
immediately in the Harvard College yard will 
be the large room in which will be installed the 
Widcner collection, the library of rare volumes 
which had given Harry Elkins Widener his 
honorable place among the great bibliophiles 
of the world. Access to the collection will be 
through the Widener Memorial Hall, a room 
forty by thirty-two feet, and lighted on each 
side by a court. Then on each side of the Wid- 
ener collection will be rooms in which are to be 
placed the large accumulation of precious manu- 
scripts and priceless volumes which already 
belong to Harvard, and which for years w-ere 
sheltered in Gore Hall in what was called the 
Treasure Room. 

Briefly, these are the dimensions and the ar- 
rangements of the new structure. It will face 
the interior of the college yard and the main 
entrance will be directly south of Appleton 
Chapel, the college church. The ground cov- 
ered measures two hundred and six by two hun- 
dred and seventy-five feet, the longest dimension 
being north and south. Outside of this dimen- 
sion of two hundred and seventy-five feet come 
the imposing flight of steps, descending from 
the first floor to the yard, and the Corinthian 
colonnade. 

The principal facade is to be most impressive. 
Twelve Corinthian colimins, each forty feet 
high, rest on a portico of one hundred and 
twenty-eight feet, which extends along the front 
of the building, reached by the steps from the 
ground twelve feet below. On each side of the 
portico are one large and several small windows, 



and back of it are the main entrance doors to 
the librarv'. The long facades also arc most 
handsome, with porticoes carrj'ing four columns 
surmounted by well-profwrtioncd pediments at 
each end. The rear or Massjichusetts Avenue 
front will also Vjc attractive and dignified and 
will have an entrance. 

The lowest or basement floor of the building 
rises from the ground to the level of the portico. 
There are on this floor large special reading 
rooms for the departments of history, govern- 
ment and economics, accommodating about 
one hundred and fifty students. Also, here are 
work-rooms for the staff, a rest room and a 
lunch room for the women employes of the 
library, together with apartments designed for 
duplicate books, the archives of the university, 
the quinquennial catalogues, and a large news- 
paper room. 

Now comes the first or main floor, on the level 
of the portico and main entrance. Here the 
memorial feature has its most imposing illus- 
tration. The \'isitor will pass through the doors 
into a vestibule, which opens into a great en- 
trance hall, and this in turn leads to the 
Widener Memorial Hall. There is an intima- 
tion in one of the blueprint drawings that 
a bust of Harry Elkins Widener will have a 
Iilace here. 

Beyond is the room for the Widener collec- 
tion, flanked by the rooms for the reception of 
the contents of the present Gore Hall treasxire 
room. Further back comes a great open court, 
fifty-two feet by one hundred and twelve feet, 
which will provide light for the interior of the 
building. At the right and left of the main 
entrance are the offices of the chiefs of the 
library staff, and in the northeast comer a group 
of rooms for cataloguing and other work of the 
library,'. 

At the head of the stairs, on the second floor, 
will be the card catalogue room, and back of it 
the deliver>' room where books will be given out, 
this much after the manner of the Boston and 
New York Public Libraries. Then on the north 
side, facing the college yard, extending from east 
to west one hundred and thirty-sL\ feet, and 
going up through three stories of the building, 
is the main reading room, with seats for three 
hundred and seventy-five students. At each 
end of this large room will be a special reading 



276 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



room, and there are other smaller reading rooms 
scattered about the building. 

The next or mezzanine floor contains a large 
art and archaeology room and a map room. 
On the top floor are the bindery, a photographing 
room, special quarters for the Classical library, 
the English library, the library of the Romance 
department, and other collections, and, running 
around three sides of the building, a series of 
twenty or more rooms of various sizes for semi- 
naries where instructors can meet their classes 
and have their reference books near at hand. 
These rooms come above the book stacks, which 
stop at the level of this floor. 

These "stacks," the cases in which the books 
of all great libraries are kept, extend, roughly 
speaking, around the east, south and west sides 
of the bviilding. They will be lighted by win- 
dows on the outside and on the three open 
courts in the interior of the building. Expected 
to hold about two millions and a half of books, 
they would make, laid down on one level, about 
fifty-nine miles of shelves. The stacks are about 
thirty feet in width. They run from the base- 
ment to the third floor, but for convenience of 
access are themselves divided into seven floors. 

Thus, at last Harvard's library is to take the 
place in the eyes of the world which long it has 
held in the estimation of those who have expert 
information about books. There are but three 
libraries in the United States which contain 
more volumes than Harvard's, namely, the 
Congressional Library in Washington, the Public 
Library of New York City, and the Boston 
Public Library. 

A word should be said about the treasures 
which Harvard will deposit in the rooms that 
are to flank, at each side, the room which will 
contain the Widener collection. In the fire- 



proof quarters built in Gore Hall for the keep- 
ing of these precious things were to be seen 
beautiful specimens of early printing, many 
examples of the work of the famous presses of 
the Middle Ages, books printed on vellum and 
on parchment, illuminated books, rare Bibles 
and office books, and such splendid rarities as 
Racine's New Testament — fit companion to 
Samuel Johnson's New Testament which comes 
to Harvard with the Widener gift — Milton's 
Pindar and Bunyan's Bible; a quantity of 
Carlyle books with his blunt notes and com- 
ments all over their pages; a copy of the Aphor- 
isms of Hippocrates in the Greek character, 
worth, perhaps, $7,000; such priceless original 
manuscripts as that of Bums' "Scots Who Hae 
wi' Wallace Bled," and Shelley's "Ode to a 
Skylark " ; natiu-e books covered with the dainty 
drawings of the poet Thomas Gray; an auto- 
graph book containing a Milton signature and 
".sentiment," and hundreds more. 

Now Harvard's treasures will have their fitting 
home. But not all the books owned by the 
university will go into this new building: the 
Harvard libraries contain about 1,000,000 books 
and 500,000 pamphlets, and many of these are 
in the libraries of the law school, the medical 
school, the divinity school, and the other de- 
partments that combine to make the university. 
There were in Gore Hall about 500,000 volumes; 
about 150,000 additional volumes are scattered 
about in various buildings belonging to the col- 
lege. These 650,000 volumes and some 400,000 
pamphlets, which make up the college library 
proper, will be placed in the Widener building. 
Thus the new structure wUl take care of the 
library needs for many years. The special 
libraries of the departments will remain where 
they are. 



EDUCATIONAL 



277 



RADCLIFFE COLLEGE 



In 1879, the Society for tlte Collegiate Instruc- 
tion of Wotnen was organized for the purpose 
of providing systematic instruction for women 
by professors and other instructors in Harvard 
University. The work thus begun was carried 
on with increasing success, but in no official 
relation with the University, until 1894, when 
the name of the Society was changed, by act of 
the General Court of Massachusetts, to Radclife 
College. By the same act Radcliffe College is 
authorized "to furnish instruction and the op- 
portunities of collegiate life to women, and to 



Radcliffe College may deem it wise to confer, 
and the said President and Fellows of Han-ard 
College may consent to assume." 

Under this provision, and with the consent 
of the Board of Overseers, the President and 
Fellows of Harvard College have been constituted 
the Board of Visitors of Radcliffe College; and 
they have authorized the President to counter- 
sign the diplomas of Radcliffe College and to 
affix to them the seal of Harvard University. 
The administration of the affairs of Radcliffe 
College and the ix)wers and functions of all its 




EXTERIOR OF NEW LIBRARY 



promote their higher education"; and "to con- 
fer on women all honors and degrees as fully as 
any university or college in this Commonwealth 
is now so empowered respecting men or women, 
— provided, however, that no degree shall be so 
conferred by the said Radcliffe College except 
with the approval of the President and Fellows 
of Harvard College, given on satisfactory evi- 
dence of such qualification as is accepted for 
the same degree when conferred by Harvard 
University." Further, "it may confer at any 
time upon the President and Fellows of Harvard 
College such powers of \'isitation and of direc- 
tion and control over its management as the said 



officers arc subject to the direction and control 
of the Board of Visitors, and no instructor or 
examiner can be appointed, employed, or re- 
tained, without their approval. 

The immediate government of the College 
is vested in a Council and an Academic Board. 
The Council, consisting of the President, the 
Dean, and the Chairman of the Academic Board, 
with seven other members chosen by the .4550- 
ciates, each for the temi of .seven years, has gen- 
eral control of all the affairs of the College, in- 
cluding the educational work, the government 
of the students, and the conferring of degrees. 
The Chairman of the Academic Board must be 



278 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



a member of the ]<\'iculty of Arts and Sciences 
of Harvard University, and his election is sulk- 



ing members are appointed annually by the 
Associates, subject to the express approval of 




EXTERIOR OF AGASSIZ HOUSE 




FAY HOUSE FROM YARD 



ject to the express approval of the Board of 
Visitors. The President and Dean are ex-officio 
members of the Academic Board. The remain- 



the Board of Visitors, from the teachers or Asso- 
ciates of Radcliffe College who are also members 
of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard. 



EDUCATIONAL 



279 




280 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



THE BROWNE AND NICHOLS SCHOOL 



Impressed with the necessity for a thorough 
and progressive school for boys in Cambridge, 
Prof. Child, Prof. Norton, and others, in the 
fall of 1882, gave their encouragement and 
patronage to a small private class formed with 
■a view to the establishment of such a school. 
With the co-operation of the late Edgar H. 
Nichols, the resvdt was the organization the 
next year, at No. 11 Appian Way, of the Browne 
and Nichols School. The school was imme- 
diately successful, and in September, 1885, 
moved to more commodious quarters at No. 8 
Garden Street, opposite the playground on the 




Common. In 1887 the gymnasium was built 
and equipped by Dr. Sargent. A new building, 
now owned and used by Radcliffe College, was 
built in the rear. Experience satisfactorily 
tested the superior lighting, heating, and venti- 
lating of this building, and proved that in every 
detail it was admirably adapted to the growing 
needs of the School. Accordingly, in 1897, 
when the School moved to its present site, on 
the corner of Berkeley Street (then Phillips 
Place), the main features of this building were 
reproduced in the present substantial brick 
building. The gymnasium is in the basement; 
and the hall on the third story has the best 
dancing floor in Cambridge. 

The School was originally called a "Fitting 
and Developing School for Boys." It was 
designed, however, not to be a mere fitting 
school, but to be a school in which the pupils 
should be trained to think for themselves. The 
founders believed that a school, to accompUsh 



this end, must be kept small enough to enable 
the teachers to do a great deal of individual 
work with the pupils. They also believed that 
the work of the different departments should 
be more evenly divided than had been custom- 
ary, and consequently adopted at the start a 
course of study that gave to science, history, 
English and other modem languages, as much 
time as to classics and mathematics. 

They soon found that great economy of time 
and effort would result from beginning with 
younger boys, and they formed a preparatory 
department, which, while kept as distinct as 
may be from the upper school, has enabled the 




teachers to plan continuous work for the whole 
course. This department is now under the 
supervision of Mr. William C. Gerrish. He is 
ably assisted by Mr. Augustus H. Smith, who 
directs the physical activities of the junior de- 
partment on Nichols Field, the new playground 
adjoining the Metropolitan Park, on the river, 
opposite Soldiers' Field. 

This ideally situated playground, only a few 
minutes' walk from the School, provides not 
only home-grounds for football and baseball 
games, but an afternoon rallying place for the 
whole School, with ample facilities; also for 
tennis, basketball, running, jumping, and other 
field sports. The river offers opportunities for 
boating and other water and ice sports. The 
locker building, equipped with the latest and 
best appliances, provides room for indoor games 
and exercises in inclement weather, and also 
study-rooms for all-day pupils. In fact, this 
Nichols Memorial is not a mere arena for com- 
petitive sports, but an attractive outdoor center. 



i 



EDUCATIONAL 



281 



in winter as well as in spring and fall, for the 
natural development of those physical and social 
actixnties that are such an important adjunct 
to the more intellectual training of the class- 
room. 

In 1912 the School was incorporated with the 
following Board of Directors: Prof. F. Lowell 
Kennedy, president; George H. Browne, clerk; 
Rev. Willard Reed, treasurer; Dr. Joseph L. 
Goodalc, and Lawrence G. Brooks, Esq. Mr. 
Reed, joint-principal, an old teacher in the 
School, whose experience iti dealing with things 
and men in business and in church, in addition 
to his resourceful educational activities, fits him 
exceptionally for administrative school service, 
has introduced up-to-date business methods 
to the increased prosperity of the new School. 

Though the School now offers the advantages 
of a country day-school, it is still true to its old 
traditions, which set intellectual and moral 
considerations above athletic and social; and 
consequently it still maintains the aims that 
have hitherto distinguished it for thirty years: 



sound methods, high standards, permanent in- 
terest in work. 

The Staff, 1912-1913.— Principals: George 
H. Browne (A.M. Harvard), 23 Chauncy St., 
English. Latin; Rev. Willard Reed (A.M. Har- 
vard), 103 Walker St., History. Greek, Latin. 
M.\sti;rs: Frederick Phillips Smith (A.B. Har- 
vard), 3 Walker Terrace, French, iMtin; Harry 
Davis Gaylord (S.B. Harvard), 98 Hemenway 
St., Boston, Mathematics, Physics; George 
Courlright Greener (E.M. in CER., Ohio State 
University, '07), 39 North Bennett St., or 198 
Clarendon St., Boston, Arts and Crafts, Sloyd; 
William Churchill Gerrish (A.B. Harvard). 
Winthrop Hall, Junior Department and History; 
Augustus Henry Smith (A.B. Harv^ard), 1 West 
St., Arlington Heights, Natural Science and 
Physical Training in the Junior Department, 
German, and Faculty Director of Athletics; Alton 
Lombard Miller (A.B. Harvard), 36 Dana St., 
Chemistry; Edwin Martin Chambcrlin, Jr., 
2 Avon St., Assistant in the Junior Department; 
Miss Bertha C. Eaton, Registrar and Secretary. 




diaries R, i.rec.. 




l¥M?^_l>--f0: ^^ '^^l^^'Mi^^ 



ChiTlcs R. Grec. 



ELKS' TEMPLE 



WYETH SQUARE FIRE STATION 



282 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



FINANCIAL 



Cambridge has long been fortunate in the 
character and financial standing of its banks. 
While a considerable number of its citizens do 
business in Boston, and naturally make use of 
financial institutions of that city, there is still 
a large volume of local business which the 
Cambridge banks are called upon to handle. 
It is gratifying to be able to state that these 
institutions have done far more than merely 
await the business that might be brought them 
by the merchants and manufacturers of the city. 
They have in many instances shown an inclina- 
tion to aid actively in the development of the 
city by offering accommodations for intending 
borrowers and other facilities that are necessary 
to the upbuilding of a modem community. 
No factor is more potent in the life of a twentieth 
century city than its banks. Large enterprises 



are dependent to no small extent upon their 
good-will, and they frequently have the making 
or breaking of a city in their hands. In Cam- 
bridge this power has been exercised wisely 
and with a keen appreciation of the duty owed by 
the bank to the community of which it is a part. 
The banking facilities of Cambridge include 
four trust companies, two national banks and 
four savings banks. These institutions are all 
favorably located in the business centers of their 
respective sections. They have all attained 
that degree of stability which comes with long 
years of successful business life. Their deposits 
total far into the milHons, and their resources 
are much more than sufficient to meet their 
liabilities. Their money is loaned very largely 
on Cambridge securities, and they are closely 
interwoven with the life of the city. 



The organization of the Harvard Bank was 
first suggested by Benjamin Tilton, who had 
been for some years a director in the Cambridge 
Bank and president of the Cambridgeport 
Savings Bank. The desired capital of $200,000 
was soon subscribed, and the first meeting of the 
stockholders was held at the City Hall, Novem- 
ber 3d, 1860. The largest subscribers were 
Benjamin Tilton and Wilkinson, Stetson & Co. 
for one hundred shares each. Other large sub- 
scribers were Harvard College, Cambridgeport 
Savings Bank, New England Mutual Life In- 
surance Company, Isaac Livermore, George 
Livermore, Edward Hyde, Newell Bent, Alanson 
Bigelow, John Sargent, Charles Wood, Daniel 
U. Chaniberlin, Z. L. Raymond, Lewis Colby, 
William A. Saunders, Charles Theodore Russell, 
George P. Carter, George Fisher, A. E. Hildreth, 
John Livermore, J. Warren Merrill, Ira Stratton, 
Rev. William A. Stearns, Emery Willard and 
Robert Waterson. 

After ratifying the Articles of Agreement, 
the stockholders elected the first Board of 
Directors, twelve in number, as follows: Ben- 
jamin Tilton, Z. L. Raymond, Lewis Colby, 
George Livermore, John Sargent, Estes Howe, 



William A. Saunders, Alanson Bigelow, NewelL 
Bent, Edward Hyde, Daniel U. Chamberlin and 
Charles Wood. 

This Board of Directors met November 7th, 
1860, when Benjamin Tilton was elected Presi- 
dent. It was decided to secure banking rooms 
in the Dowse Building, so called, on the comer 
of Main and Prospect Streets. 

At a meeting of the Directors held December 
17th, Willard A. Bullard was unanimously 
elected cashier and Edward G. Dyke messenger 
and bookkeeper. 

On January 14th, 1861, the Directors voted 
to open the bank for business on March 1st. 
President Lincoln's inauguration was to take 
place March 4th. Predictions were freely made 
that he would never hold office. Threats of 
secession were rife, business was unsettled, the 
country was in a condition of intense excitement. 
In view of this, it was thought wise to postpone 
the opening of the bank. The moming of 
March 5th was selected, if a government were 
then in existence. The President having been 
peacefully inaugurated, the Bank was opened 
for business the next moming. On the day 
preceding, the special Commissioners appointed 



FINANCIAL 



283 



by the Governor came to Cambridge with specie 
scales and satisfied themselves, in the presence 
of the Directors, that the entire capital, $200,000 
had been paid in, and was l>'infj before them in 
gold coins of standard weight. This formality 
was then required by law. 

The Harvard Bank was among the first to 
offer a loan to the State. This was done im- 
mediately afler^news came of the attack upon 



Commonwealth of Mas.sachusetts, 
Treasurer's Office, 
Boston, April 24th, 1861. 
Bf.nj. Tii.ToN, Esq., 

PttsiJcnl Harcard Bank, Cambridge port 

Di:.\R Sir: Your communication of the 22d 

inst., containing the offer of your Bank of a loan 

of $50,000, has fjcen jjlaced in my hands by His 

Excellency, Gov. Andrew, for reply. He desires 




IHI-. H.\KV.\R1J TRUST COMP.ANV 



Fort Sumter. The correspondence was as 
follows : 

Har\'ard Bank, Cambridgeport, Mass. 

April 22d, 1861. 

To His Excellency, John A. Andrkw, 

Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Sir: At a meeting of the Directors of the 
Harv'ard Bank, held this evening, a full Board 
being present, it was unanimously voted that, 
in consideration of the present condition of the 
country and the necessity for prompt action, 
the President be authorized to tender a loan of 
fifty thousand dollars to the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts. In compliance with said 
vote, I have the pleasure to notify Your Ex- 
cellency that the Harvard Bank will hold itself 
ready to respond in that amount to the call of 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Benj. Tilton, 
President Harvard Bank. 



me to express to your Board of Directors his 
sincere gratitude for the intelligent patriotism 
which has prompted your li!)eralily. 

No immediate necessity existing for its instant 
acceptance, I am directed to say, as lias already 
been done in the case of other similar offers, 
that, with your pennission, he will hold your 
offer in reser\'e for such future emergency as 
may arise. 

Very truly yours, 

Henry K. Oliver, 

Treasurer and Receiver General. 

A div4dcnd of three per cent, was paid on 
October 1st, 1861, less than seven months from 
the opening of the bank ; and from that time to 
the present, dixndends have been maintained 
varying in amount from six to twelve per cent, 
per annum. The amount of money thus dis- 
bursed to the stockholders to the present time 
has been, in dividends and profits, $997,000, 
or nearly five times the capital. 

On March 10th, 1864, the Directors appointed 



284 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



a Committee to consider the expediency of 
seeking a charter under the National banking 
law. Four days later this Committee reported, 
closing its report with these words: 

If the Directors are of the opinion that it is 
best to make the change and wish to be the First 
National Bank of Cambridge, your Committee 
recommend immediate action with regard to it. 
Benj. Tilton, 
Signed, Charles Wood, Committee. 
Alanson Bigelow. 

This prompt action secured for the Bank all 
the advantages accruing from becoming "The 
First National Bank of Cambridge." 

On April 25th, 1864, the stockholders voted 
that "The Harvard Bank do become an asso- 
ciation for carrying on the business of banking 
under the laws of the United States." 

The bank began business as The First National 
Bank of Cambridge, June 1st, 1864, under a 
charter expiring February 25th , 1 883 . Although 
the deposits in the Harvard Bank had seldom 
exceeded $75,000, the profit and loss account 
at the date of changing to a National Bank 
showed net profits of $67,971, $41,000 of which 
had been paid to the stockholders in dividends 
of from six to eight per cent, per annum. 

About this time the bank was made a deposi- 
tory for U.S. Government funds. 

In December, 1875, the bank removed, across 
Prospect Street, to its second home, comer of 
Main and Prospect Streets. 

The first of the original Board of Directors 
of the Harvard Bank to be removed by death 
was George Livermore, who died in 1865. Ben- 
jamin Tilton, who had served as President from 
the beginning, died November 23d, 1882. His 
administration of nearly twenty-two years had 
been eminently successful, and his loss was 
severely felt by his associates in the Board of 
Directors. At a meeting of the Directors held 
November 27th, the vacancy in the Board of 
Directors caused by Mr. Tilton' s death was 
filled by the election of his oldest son, Henry N. 
Tilton. He did faithful and valuable service 
until his death in 1904. He was a member of 
the Board the same length of time as his father, 
between twenty-one and twenty-two years. 
Daniel U. Chamberlin was elected successor 
to Benjamin Tilton, as president, January 9th, 



1883. Mr. Chamberlin discharged his duties 
as president with marked ability until his death 
June 14th, 1898. 

Willard A. Bullard, who had held office as 
cashier from the opening of the Harvard Bank, 
was elected president June 21st, 1898, and Walter 
F. Earle, who had been for some years an efficient 
officer of the bank, was elected successor to Mr. 
Bullard, as cashier. 

For several years before action was taken, 
the advisability of becoming a Trust Company 
under the laws of this Commonwealth had been 
discussed from time to time. It was finally 
decided to apply to the Savings Bank Commis- 
sioner for a charter to do business as a Trust 
Company. It was resolved to revive the original 
name "Harvard," and to call the new corpora- 
tion the Harvard Trust Company. This peti- 
tion was granted. On July 8th, 1904, at a 
meeting of the stockholders, By-laws were 
adopted and officers of the Harvard Trust Com- 
pany elected as follows: 

Directors: Henr}^ Endicott, Erasmus D. 
Leavitt, Frederick W. Tilton, Willard A. Bullard, 
William W. Dallinger, Albert M. Barnes, Frank 
A. Kennedy. President — Willard A. Bullard; 
Vice-president, Erasmus D. Leavitt; Clerk, 
Walter F. Earle. 

The Directors then elected Walter F. Earle 
treasurer. On July 14th, 1904, the charter was 
issued. 

At a meeting of the stockholders of the First 
National Bank, held August 5th, 1904, it was 
resolved, two-thirds of the capital stock of the 
Association being represented, that the First 
National Bank of Cambridge be placed in volun- 
tary liquidation, under the provision of Sections 
5220 and 5221 U.S. Revised Statutes, to take 
effect August 6th, 1904. 

Caleb Wood served as a Director of the First 
National Bank from 1870 to 1877, having suc- 
ceeded Charles Wood. Dana W. Hyde served 
as Director more than twenty-five years, having 
succeeded Caleb Wood in that office. He died 
in June, 1903. Edward Hyde died in 1885, and 
Joseph A. Holmes held office, as his successor, 
till his own death in 1893. 

The Harvard Trust Company opened for 
business on August 8th, 1904, in the old rooms. 

It had already been decided to lease suitable 
banking rooms from the Cambridgeport Savings 



FINANCIAL 



285 



Bank in its new building, then in process of 
erection. 

On July 29th, 1904, it was definitely decided 
to establish and maintain Safety Deposit Vaults. 

As the result of the liquidation of the First 
National Bank by the Harvard Trust Company, 
its liquidating agent, the stockholders received 
the par value of their stock and sixty-five per 
cent, in addition. Semi-annual dividends had 
been paid regularly during the life of the Bank. 
Almost without exception the old stockholders 
transferred their interest to the Harvard Trust 
Company, taking the new stock at S150 per 
share. This enabled the new company to begin 
business with a surplus of $100,000, or fifty per 
cent, of its capital. 

The business was transferred to the present 
commodious and well appointed banking rooms 
in the Savings Bank Building on Saturday, 
August 1 1th, 1906. On the opening of the doors 
at eight o'clock that morning, several customers 
were in waiting, each desiring to make the first 
deposit. This distinction fell to G. C. \V. Fuller, 
who had been a depositor for more than forty 
years, having had an account in the Harvard 
Bank. The Safety Vault Department was opened 
at this time, many renters having selected boxes 
before the removal. The demand for boxes since 
that time has far exceeded expectations and has 
necessitated the addition of two nests of boxes, 
each nearly as large as that originally pro\nded. 

In addition to its regular banking business, 
the Harvard Trust Company acts as adminis- 
trator, executor, trustee, guardian, etc., and 
already has in its care trust property to the value 
of more than $400,000. 

It is of interest to mention that the outlay 
for adequate vault and safe accommodations 
with fittings, etc., when the Harvard Bank com- 
menced business was S675. 

Corresponding conveniences for the Har\'ard 
Trust Company, including its safety vaults, 
in\-olved the expenditure of 850,000. 



It is worthy of note that from the beginning 
in 1861 only four persons have held the office 
of president, the change in each case being 
caused by the death of the incumbent ; and only 
three persons have held the office of cashier or 
treasurer, the changes being caused by the 
promotion of the incumbent. 

The following table may be of interest as an 
indication of the growth of Cambridge and of 
the business of the Bank: 

The amount on deposit in 

Harvard Bank. October, 1861, $,^3,000 

First National Bank, October, 1870, 152.(KX) 

1X80, .S.?4,000 

1S90, 769,000 

1900, 1,060.000 
Harvard Trust Company, October, 

1910. 2,055.000 

The record of the Company during the half- 
century is an honorable one. Devotion, loyalty 
and strict honesty have been marked charac- 
teristics of its officers and employees in the past , 
and are equally so, we think, today. It has 
been and still is the aim, so far as prudence will 
allow, to use the resources of the Company 
locally, helping those who need and deserve aid 
from time to time in carr\-ing on and developing 
business in Cambridge. The Company enjoys 
the confidence of the community and will make 
every effort to administer its affairs in such a 
way as to retain this confidence. 

The present officers are: Walter F. Earle, 
president; Erasmus D. Leavitt, \-ice-presidcnt ; 
Herbert H. Dyer, treasurer. The Directors are : 
Walter F. Earle, Henr>' Endicott, William W. 
Dallinger, Erasmus D. Lca\ntt. Frederick W. 
Tilton, Albert M. Barnes, Frank A. Kennedy. 
Edward D. WTiitford, Warren H. Dunning, 
John H. Corcoran. 

Mr. Bullard died November 12. 1912. and 
was succeeded by Walter F. Earle. November 
19, 1912. 



286 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



The Cambridge Savings Bank, the oldest 
savings bank in this city, and indeed one of the 
oldest in this section of the State, was incorpo- 
rated in 1834, beginning business in 1835. The 
bank occupies a handsome building at 15 Dun- 
ster Street, a few steps from Harvard Square, 
in the center of a very large business, and whose 
assets total $7 ,449,404 . 09. During its existence 
the institution has enjoyed a period of uninter- 
rupted prosjjerity and has done splendid work 
in inculcating and encouraging the habit of 
saving in the community. During its existence 



assistant treasurer, Arthur H. Boardman, has 
likewise had a long and honorable service, 
having been connected with the bank twenty- 
five years. The receiving teller, Henry A. 
Nichols, has seen fourteen years of service. 
During the past six years the bank has paid 
interest at the rate of four per cent, per year, 
which rate has been exceeded only by a few of 
the well-conducted savings banks in Massa- 
chusetts. It has a total of 17,254 depositors. 
Its accommodations for the expeditious transac- 
tion of business are not excelled by any bank in 



i 




sra av i -j M : ;:iaa i-u:j j^.4j j uakdP ' 



J ^rTV t fr^-tr m i ■ g'M ■ I w ■rm.A ^ 



j»!lSi Sifl Si:^^:? r i 

£1 iiJ S li ., W-, ^ I] H S 1 




CAMBRIDGE SAVINGS BANK 



15 DUNSTER STREET, HARVARD SQUARE 



it has enjoyed the services of some of the leading 
men in the community and has had specially 
good fortune in the length of time in which its 
capable officials have held office. The first 
president of the bank was Asahel Steams, who 
was followed in turn by Levi Farwell, Simon 
Greenleaf, Sidney Willard, Jacob H. Bates, 
Charles C. Little, Charles Beck, Stephen T. 
Farwell, John B. Dana, Charles W. Sever, Dr. 
John T. G. Nichols and Dr. Edward R. Cogs- 
well, the present (1913) head of the institution. 
The treasurer, Oscar F. Allen, has been connected 
with the bank for thirty-six years, holding the 
present position during thirty years. The 



this city. Its present officers are president, 
Edward R. Cogswell; treasiu-er, Oscar F. Allen; 
assistant treasurer, Arthvu: H. Boardman; teller, 
Henry A. Nichols; vice-presidents, Enoch 
Beane and Harrie E. Mason; with the following 
board of trustees: Edwin Dresser, Franldin 
Perrin, Stephen W. Driver, John H. Hubbard, 
Frederick Worcester, James F. PenneU, Leslie 
N. Brock, Oscar F. Allen, John C. Dow, Elmer 
W. Billings, Arthur H. Boardman, George W. 
Claflin, Parker F. Soule, William B. Reid, John 
Amee, Thomas Hadley, Joseph H. Beale, Fred 
W. Dallinger, Wm. B. M'Coy. 



FINANCIAL 



287 



One of the gems in the setting of notable 
North Cambridge buildings, is the handsome 
home of the North Avenue Savings Bank, at 
the comer of Massachusetts Avenue and Porter 
Road. The new building occupied by this 
bank, which was completed in 1908, is practi- 
cally on the site of the original home that the 
institution occupied for so many years, and which 
was torn dowTi to make way for the new Ma- 
sonic Temple. 

The North Avenue Savings Bank Building 
is a one-story structure of limestone and buff- 
faced brick. The banking room is handsomely 
finished in mahogany, with a mosaic marble 



paid by any savings bank in the State. Interest 
is computed quarterly and is payable on Janu- 
ary 10th and July 10th of each year. 

The North Avenue Saxnngs Bank was in- 
corporated in 1872, and was the fourth institu- 
tion for savings to be started in the dty of 
Cambridge. The first officers of the bank were 
as follows: President, Samuel F. Woodbridge; 
vice-presidents, Jonas C. Wellington, Cornelius 
Dow, W. Fo.\ Richardson, Chandler R. Ransom; 
treasurer, Milton L. Walton; clerk, George W. 
Park; trustees, Chester W. Kingsley, Warren 
Sanger, Daniel W. Shaw, Person Davis, Henr>' J. 
Mclendy, Daniel Fobe, Henry C. Rand, Horatio 




NORTH .WENUE S.WI.VGS B.-\NK 



floor. There is a well-appointed waiting room 
for ladies. The security of the institution is 
enhanced by new biu^glar-proof vaults. 

The bank is open for deposits and drafts from 
8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily, and for the special 
convenience of customers is open on Saturday 
evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. 

The North Avenue Savings Bank has pursued 
a imiform policy of encouraging savings among 
its patrons, and has been as liberal and accom- 
modating as any institution of its kind. Its 
growth has more than paralleled the growth of 
the locality, its deposits having increased from 
$49,228 in 1875 to §2,480,766 in January, 1912. 
The deposits have still further increased during 
the year just passed, and on January 1st, 1913, 
there were 8,270 depositors with total deposits 
of 82,619,664.58. The bank pays interest at 
the rate of four percent — as high a rate as is 



Locke, John Davis, John J. Henderson, John 
Holman and James H. Collins. 

The present officers of the bank are the fol- 
lowing: Presidatt, Charles F. Stratton; vice- 
president, Warren L. Hooper; treasurer, Milton 
L. Walton; clerk, William H. Goodnow. Its 
trustees arc Charles F. Stratton, Warren L. 
Hooper, Milton L. Walton, William E. Hut- 
chins, Edward L. Grueby, Phineas Hubbard, 
B>Ton T. Thayer, William J. Mandcll, Hon. 
Arthur P. Stone, Frank E. Sands, Edward B. 
Stratton, Samuel Usher, Henry O. Cutter, 
George B. Wason, Charles D. Rice and Charles 
F. Hathaway. 

It is a matter worthy of note that the present 
treasiu-er, Milton L. Walton, has been the 
treasurer of the bank since its incorporation in 
1872, a period of forty years. 



288 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



CAMBRIDGE INDUSTRIES 



For almost three centuries, her influence 
has been exercised throughout the land in the 
arts and literature, education and the higher 
sciences, and in these opening years of the 
twentieth century, Cambridge bids fair to rival 
the greatest manufacturing and industrial com- 
munities. Every one knows of her part in the 
crises of our country's existence, but many do 
not realize the tremendous strides in business 
activities and that the city ranks today as a 
leader in Massachusetts in value of manufac- 
tured products. Cambridge is a city of homes, 
an abiding place for education, but has an ex- 
panding manufacturing and industrial section. 

It will be of advantage to glance over the 
following pages on which are recorded some 
pertinent facts. During the last four years the 
total building operations have amounted to 
nearly six million dollars. In the year 1912 
alone the building operations showed a gain of 
eighty-seven percent over the preceding year, 
which is only exceeded by one other city in 
United States, namely, Tacoma, Wash. This 
great gain was due largely to the number of new 
manufacturing structures. The year 1913 bids 
fair to show an equal gain, due in great measure 
to the erection of fine apartment houses and 
private residences. 

Cambridge, Mass., deserves the considera- 
tion of the modem mantifacturer. With its 
proximity to the Atlantic seaboard, its admirable 
rail and water transportation facilities, its in- 
vigorating climate, its abundance of skilled and 
vinskilled labor, its close relation to the great 
city of Boston, the natural purchasing center 
for New England's 6,500,000 population, its 
opportunities for comfortable homes; — ^with 
these advantages it affords an unrivalled location 
for industrial plants of all descriptions. Labor 
strikes and disagreements are practically un- 
known in Cambridge. 

Along the Charles River front and contiguous, 
to the lines of railroads are acres of most desirable 
land which are immediately available for manu- 
facturing purposes. 



The Boston and Albany Railroad runs across 
the eastern portion of the city, and the Boston 
and Maine Railroad, in its southern and western 
division, affords easy means of handling any 
quantity of inbound or outbound freight. By 
these railroads direct and rapid connection is 
made with the great docks on the sea front, thus 
providing advantageously for the quick dis- 
tribution of the manufactured products among 
the markets of the world. 

The large and flourishing industries already 
established in Cambridge have an annual output 
of nearly $45,000,000 . 00. Many of these manu- 
facturing plants were located in Cambridge after 
a thorough examination and exhaustive study 
of conditions, and the proprietor of one of the 
largest plants has said: "Of the suburbs of 
Boston, beginning at East Boston, and following 
the railroad through Chelsea, Everett, Charles- 
town, Somer\dlle and Cambridge, and examining 
all vacant lands on railroads entering Boston, 
not too remote for our purpose, the result of 
this careful examination was the choice of the 
present location of the works. The price was 
found very reasonable compared with any other 
land so near Boston. We have at times made 
three round trips daily to different parts of 
Boston with heavily loaded teams. We have 
never regretted our choice of location. 

The maniifactiiring district, too, is surrounded 
by the public park system. The workmen in 
the factories and the toilers in the shops thus 
have places easy of access, where throughout 
the hot summer months they can find necessary 
and welcome relief from the dusty streets and 
crowded tenements of a city in the green lawns, 
the trees and fresh air. 

Every manufacturer at once appreciates the 
value and effect of such parks and open places 
upon the health, happiness and morality of 
employees. 

There is an exceptional diversity in the manu- 
facturing interests of Cambridge. They include 
founderies and machine shops, food preparatory 
establishments with an annual output of 



INDUSTRIES 



289 



twenty million dollars (the larf^est industry 
and in this respect leading the cities of Massa- 
chusetts), meat packing, printing and publish- 
ing, the manufacture of confectionery, furniture, 
soap, structural iron work, pianos, organs and 
other musical instruments, marble and stone, 
carriages, men's clothing, lumber, brick, under- 
takers' goods, druggists' preparations, auto- 
mobiles, shoes, rubber goods, bithulithic pave- 
ment, etc. The annual product of musical 
instruments aggregates two and a half millions 
(82,500,000.00), machinery, four millions (S4,- 
000,000.00), and printing and pulilishing three 
and a half millions ($3,500,000.00). 

Cambridge has confectionery factories enough 
to supply the demands of many thousands. 
Candies by the ton; candies of all grades 
and all quantities; candies for old and for 
young; fashionable, stylish, high-priced candies, 
in fancy boxes — sweet things in every conceiv- 
able form are made in Cambridge, and sold 
everywhere. Think of candies to the value of 
81,700,180.00 made in one city in one year. 
Think of an average of eight hundred persons 
making candy (in the Christmas season nearly 
two hundred more). There was a time when 
candy was counted a luxury, but today it is 
believed to be a necessary of life, and Cam- 
bridge is supplying a large share of the demand 
for it. 

Cambridge soap-making is one of the oldest 
industries of the city, and the latest figures 
show an annual product of $1,183,765 .00 worth. 
The bulk of the business is done by three great 
concerns, with a capital of about 82,000,000.00 
and pay rolls of about 8100,000.00 a year. 

Cambridge furniture is well-known, not only 
in Boston, but in places far remote. Some of 
it is of a very high grade, and the product in- 
cludes artistic specialties and order work requir- 
ing more than common skill. 

The musical instruments made in this city 
are sold ever>^vherc. The makers are old, well- 



established concerns, with long experience and 
a reputation based upon merit. There are 
about eight hundred employees on the pay rolls, 
and they earn about $.KX),000 a year, produc- 
ing pianos and organs, and material for musical 
instruments to the amount of nearly $800,000 00 
a year. 

There arc a half-dozen establishments engaged 
in work upon lumber, producing house finish, 
sash, doors, blinds and other material used by 
the Vjuildcrs of Cambridge and other places. 

The Cambridge business of making structural 
iron work was established many years ago by 
a few large concerns, which have a standing 
among the best in New England. They pay 
out more than 8100,000 a year in wages, and 
their products sell for more than a half million 
dollars. 

Nearly 1.200 retail establishments supply 
the wants of Cambridge, paying wages approach- 
ing 82,250.00 a year, and having sales of more 
than 815.000,000. 00. 

The building up of Cambridge of late years 
has followed two separate and distinct channels. 
In the industrial sections of the Lower Port and 
East Cambridge there has been a steady influx 
of new industries. Acre after acre of vacant 
land has been utilized for the construction of 
high-class factory properties, adding to the value 
of the surrounding land, besides bringing in a 
great amount of personality for taxation in 
Cambridge. The land in the vicinity of the 
Grand Junction Railroad has seen a particvilarly 
favorable development along these lines. 

From the neighboring city of Boston, manu- 
facturing Cambridge is distant only ten minutes 
by trolley lines, and connecting routes afford 
a quick trip to all points of interest in the great 
MetropoHtan District. 

The new Subway, now makes it possible to 
reach the great retail district in three minutes 
from the factory' and not more than ten minutes 
from Harv'ard Square. 



290 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



The firm of Ginn and Company, Publishers 
of School and College Textbooks, was estab- 
lished in 1867, by Edwin Ginn. For six years 
the firm carried on business under the name of 
Ginn Brothers, as Fred B. Ginn during that 
time was his brother's only partner. The name 
was changed in 1876 to Ginn and Heath, upon 
the occasion of the admission to the firm of Mr. 



Ginn and Company manufacture the many 
textbooks that are daily shipped all over the 
United States and into foreign countries for use 
in the thousands of schools and institutions 
which are a part of the vast educational system 
of today. 

The environment of the Boston office at 29 
Beacon Street is ideal for a business like that 




HOME OFFICE OF GliW AND COMPANY, 29 BEACON STREET. BOSTON 



Heath, and it remained so for nine years, until 
in 1885 it became Ginn and Company, the name 
by which the firm has been known ever since. 

The home office of Ginn and Company is in 
Boston, beautifully situated on Beacon Street 
two doors west of the State House, on the site 
of the John Hancock mansion. Just across the 
Charles River, on First Street, in East Cam- 
bridge, is situated the Athenaeum Press where 



of Ginn and Company. The quiet of the Com- 
mon with its beautiful elms, its inviting shaded 
walks, and the historical Frog Pond are emi- 
nently suitable and appropriate surroundings 
for the office of a publishing house, being re- 
moved from the noisy traffic of the busier streets 
without being far away from the business center 
of the city. 

These quarters have been the home of Ginn 



INDUSTRIES 



291 



and Company since 1901. For more than a 
quarter of a century prior to that their offices 
were in another place almost, if not quite, as 
much honored by time and tradition. This was 
the "Old Brick Row," 13 Trcmont Place, over- 
looking the Granari' Burying Ground. About 
this building there was an Old-Worid air as 
unusual as it was attractive. The high ivy- 
mantled stone frame of the gateway to the 
bun,'ing ground, the graceful spire of the Park 
Street Church, and the picturesque nooks and 
comers of the burying ground itself were all 
easily visible from almost every window. No 
more quiet and restful spot could be found in all 



The business of Ginn and Company demands 
that they also have offices in other cities, as their 
selling organization extends all over the United 
States as well as into foreign countries. The 
branch offices of the firm arc situated in New 
York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Columbus, San 
Francisco and London. 

All of the books which are distributed through 
these offices arc manufactured at the Athenaeum 
Press. This is one of the most imposing manu- 
facturing establishments in New England. It 
is a building of 200 feet frontage, and a width of 
400 feet. With its simple brick facade, crowned 
by a giant statue of the goddess Athena (by 







JimtS-Si 



«ta 



'•5^. 




'mm ii!: -^tf 




ATHE.NAEUM PRESS 



Boston. But the old brick structure at last 
gave way to a huge steel office building, and the 
publishers were obliged to seek another home 
where, if possible, the same sort of mellow tradi- 
tions to which they were accustomed could be 
secured. Fortunately, the site of the old John 
Hancock house was offered for sale, and Messrs. 
Ginn and Company were soon established on 
this favored spot. 



Siligardi of Florence), it presents an exterior 
ob\-iously appropriate for a great press. The 
building consists of four floors and a basement- 
which pro\-ide over two hundred thousand square 
feet of available surface, fiJly occupied by the 
departments engaged in the several processes 
of book-making. Ten thousand additional feet 
of floor space afforded by a frame building, are 
given up to a well-established restaurant, a 



292 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



carpenter shop and a paint shop. The Press 
itself is very substantially constructed of brick 
and steel, its proof against fire being made 
doubly certain by automatic sprinklers, fire 
hose and sliding metal doors. 

It has been the aim of Ginn and Company to 
furnish for their employees the most comfortable 
accommodations possible. Light and fresh air 
are abundant in practically every part of the 
building. Individual lockers, a rest room, an 
emergency room, and reading rooms are among 
the conveniences provided. 

Every process of book-making — composition, 
engraving, electrotyping, printing and binding — 
is admirably represented at the Athenaeum 
Press. The most modern machinery, the best 
methods and the highest type of workmanship 
have won for Messrs. Ginn and Company the 
enviable reputation of publishing books that 
are as superior in mechanical execution as they 
are in content. 

In the manufacture of the many thousand 
books which are daily completed at the Press, 
over five hundred skilled men and women are 
regularly employed. 

A brief description of the most important 
departments and an outHne of the processes car- 
ried on therein are given in the following pages. 

COMPOSING ROOM 

The composing room, located on the fourth 
floor of the building, is the department where 
the mechanical process of making a book begins. 
The size of page, the size and style of types, and 
other details having been settled, the manuscript 
(or "copy") of the book is divided among vari- 
ous compositors, and the work of type setting 
commences. The matter is first set in long 
strips or galleys, from which " proofs" are taken. 
Needed corrections are then indicated on the 
proof by the proof-reader and by the author, and 
made in the type. The galley is then divided 
into pages of the desired size. Further proofs 
are taken and further corrections and changes 
made until the matter is finally approved, when 
it is locked up in strong steel frames (or 
"chases") and sent to the electrotype depart- 
ment. After the electrotype plate has been 
made, the type is returned to the composing 
room and distributed, each letter to its proper 
compartment, and is ready for use in other work. 



At the Athenaeum Press all books are printed 
from electrotype plates, which are much lighter 
than pages of type, much more easily handled 
and stored away for later impressions, and much 
more diu-able. 

ELECTROTYPE DEPARTMENT 

The electrotype department is on the fourth 
floor of the building, adjoining the composing 
room, and consists of two rooms — a molding 
room and a finishing room. The process of 
making an electrotype plate is essentially as 
follows : An impression of the type page is taken 
in a sheet of wax under heavy pressiu-e. The 
mold, which faithfully reproduces the face of 
the type, is covered, by dusting with black lead 
and afterward polishing, with a thin film, which 
is to serve as conductor for the electricity in 
the plating process. The mold is then suspended 
from the negative pole of the electric battery 
in a bath containing an acid solution of copper, 
in close proximity to a large sheet of pure copper 
hung from the positive pole. By the action of 
the electric current the bath is decomposed; 
copper from the bath is deposited evenly over 
the surface of the inold, a fresh supply of copper 
being dissolved from the positive pole by the 
free acid thus formed. When copper has been 
deposited to the desired thickness, the mold is 
taken from the bath and the copper shell stripped 
off. After thorough cleaning, the shell is laid 
on its face, and upon its back is poured melted 
lead to the thickness of a quarter of an inch. 
The plate thus made then goes through the 
various processes of planing, beveling and testing 
for defects and is ultimately packed with others 
in wooden boxes and delivered to the press room. 

PRESS ROOM 

The press room occupies space on the first 
and second floors of the building, for machinery ; 
a portion of the basement, for storage of paper; 
and two fireproof vaults, for the storage of 
electrotype plates. On the first floor are the 
office of the press room, several presses (built 
especially for illustrated work) known as stop- 
cylinder presses, and many fast-running two- 
revolution presses for general work. Nearly 
all of the cylinder presses are fitted with auto- 
matic feeders for feeding paper sheet by sheet. 
At the further extremity of the room are three 



INDUSTRIES 



293 



large presses capable of printing a sheet 46 x 60 
inches, built especially for the printing of Frye's 
geographies. On this floor also are presses 
(known as perfecting presses) which print on 
both sides of a sheet of paper at one impression; 
also powerful hydraulic presses for removing 
indentations in paper which occur in the process 
of printing. 

On the second press-room floor are several 
large double presses so arranged as to print two 
different colors at each impression, these presses 
being devoted principally to printing maps for 
geographies, histories, etc. On this floor also 
are many other presses for general work, small 
presses for printing stationery, circulars, etc., 
and a well-equipped machine shop with powerful 
lathes, planers and drills. 

In the fireproof vaults in the basement are 
stored the elcctnjtype ])lates of over two thou- 
sand publications. For use in case of accident 
or excessive wear of the plates there are also 
extra sets of plates of several hundred of these 
books. 

BINDERY 

This department occupies most of the third 
and fourth floors of the building and also a 
portion of the basement. On the fourth floor 
are performed the operations of folding, pasting, 
gathering and sewing or stitching. The folding 
machines take the y)rinted sheets as they come 
from the presses and fold them, sixty-four pages 
at a time, making four folds (or signatures) of 
sixteen pages each. In their projDcr places are 
pasted the fly-leaves and any inserted maps, 
portraits, or diagrams. 

In the gathering department the signatures 
arc placed in piles in nuinerical order in a gather- 
ing machine, an ingenious device for arranging 
the signatures in the proper order to fonn a book. 
From sixteen thousand to eighteen thousand 
books are made up by one of these machines 
in a day. Only a few years ago all this work was 
done by hand. The books arc next sewed on 
machines operated by women. Geographies 
and many books designed for primary schools 
are fastened by another method, known as 
stitching, which, though less flexible than sewing, 
is much stronger. 

The sewed or stitched books are then sent to 
the floor below, where they go through the 



various processes known as forwarding. The 
edges are trimmed in powerful cutting machines, 
the backs are rounded by machines built for this 
purpose, several thicknesses of cloth and paper 
are glued on the backs for reinforcement, and 
the books made ready to put into the covers. 

Meanwhile the covers are being made in other 
departments. The cloth, leather and board are 
cut to the proper size, and a special machine 
assembles the various pieces and forms them 
into a cover. The title of the book and the 
cover design are stamped upon this cover by 
means of an engraved brass plate or die, which 
in many cases must be hot. When gold or silver 
effects are desired the metal is laid on in sheets 
and the design stamped with the hot die. The 
process of putting the books into covers is done 
either by a clever invention called a casing 
machine, or by hand. 

The books are then arranged between boards 
having projecting edges of brass, and are put 
under pressure for from four to twelve hours, 
when they are taken out and carefully examined. 
After the defective copies have been thrown 
out, the perfect books are packed in large trucks 
and carried to the storeroom. 

SHIPPING DEPARTMENT 

For the convenience of the shipping depart- 
ment a special railroad track runs to a door of 
the Press. Over this suppUes are received in 
carloads and books are shipped out in large 
quantities to the branch offices of Ginn and 
Company in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, 
Dallas, Colimibus, San Francisco and London. 

POWER HOUSE 

In the power house there are four steam 
engines wdth a combined force of 670 horse 
power. Each drives a separate electric genera- 
tor. The plant is complete in duplicate so that 
in ca.se of a breakdown no delay occurs. These 
engines furnish all the power and light for the 
Press. The two hundred and fifty machines 
in the building are driven by indi\-idual motors, 
thus doing away with all shafting and belting. 

A fire pump with a capacity of a thousand 
gallons a minute is connected with the sprinkling 
system and standpipes throughout the building. 
In the power house is also a twelve foot fan which 
constantly forces fresh air throughout the 
building. 



294 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



No great business house in Cambridge has a 
more interesting history than the John P. Squire 
Company. When John P. Squire started in 
business in 1842 he was the entire concern and his 
plant was a wheelbarrow. Today the company 
employs one thousand men in its plant at 
East Cambridge alone. This means that fully 
five thousand people, or a large-sized town, are 
dependent upon this concern. This does not 
include the great chain of wholesale houses 
throughout New England and the millions of 
dollars that are paid annually to farmers through- 
out Iowa, Illinois and in sections of Ohio for 
hogs. The success of the John P. Squire Com- 
pany from its huinble beginning to the great 
success of today is a romance in business that 
has no rival in fiction. 

When John P. Squire started to kill hogs for 
the Boston market he chose a site along what 
was then the Miller river, a section that is now 
the busy manufacturing section of Cambridge 
and Somerv'ille. He chose this site because he 
could dispose of the garbage of his plant in the 
creek. Here he started killing hogs and carted 
them along the turnpike to Hansard Square 
and into Boston \na. what is now Allston and 
the Back Bay. This was the only way he could 
get to Boston in those days. The carcass was 
taken to North Street, Boston, where it was 
cut up for the trade. Up to within a few years 
the Httle shed or shanty where Mr. Squire did 
his work stood in the center of the present plant , 
but it was torn down to make room for another 
large building of the plant. 

Success met Mr. Squire's efforts from the 
start. He worked hard and prospered. 

The packing industry' of this countny' had its 
origin at the Squire plant. He was the origina- 
tor of the packing system as it is now carried on 
throughout the countr}\ The work up to this 
time had been done by butchers. Tltrough the 
original efforts of Mr. Squire the packing busi- 
ness has developed in this country' as in no other 
nation in the world. 

As Mr. Squire's business increased he found 
that he must butcher in the summer time if he 
wished to keep pace with his trade. Animal 
food to be cured must be kept at a temperature 
of thirty-eight degrees or less until the process 
is completed. This necessitated his butchering 



only in the winter time. Mr. Squire built a 
large ice-house with a room in the center. He 
found that by packing ice all around this room 
he could maintain a temperature so that he could 
kill hogs during the summer months. This was 
an immense task, however, as hundreds of men 
had to be employed winters to gather an ice 
supply sufficient to last diuring the summer 
months. The freshly-killed carcasses coming 
into this chilled room, added to the presence of 
a large force of workmen, consumed immense 
quantities of ice. For a number of years he 
could not secure an ice supply to carry him 
through the summer months with his constantly 
increasing business. Finally over one thousand 
men were employed to cut ice from ponds 
throughout this section of the State during 
the winter months to supply ice for the great 
icehouse which he built. Candle light was used 
inside the packing house and this consimied large 
quantities of ice. Finally a gas plant was in- 
stalled to take the place of the candle light. Mr. 
Squire manufactured his own gas and sold the 
coke. One of the old coke pits is still a part of 
the present works and is used as a storage place 
for chemicals. 

Even with the iced refrigerating rooms the 
products of the plant could not all be properly 
cured during the summer months. There was 
yearly a heax'^- loss caused by some of the meat 
spoiling because it could not be kept at the right 
temperature. 

Another great difficulty was in the employ- 
ment of men. While one thousand men were 
engaged in the winter in harvesting ice, jobs 
could not be found for them during the summer 
months. Most of the help that worked for 
Mr. Squire in the winter time had to find other 
employment during the summer months. 

It was about twenty-five years ago that the 
present system of artificial refrigeration was 
discovered. This solved the problem of the 
meat packers, and the tremendous business of 
the present Squire Company came as a result 
of modem refrigeration. Modem refrigeration 
caused other packing companies to spring into 
existence, but they came without the struggle 
and romance of beginning that had been the 
story of the John P. Squire Company. 

Under the old system of refrigeration the 



INDUSTRIES 



295 



packing year was divided into two seasons. 
One was the summer and the other the winter 
packing season. The summer season was from 
March to November and the winter period from 
November to March. These terms of winter 
and summer packing are still used in the trade, 
although packing is carried on just as much in 
the hottest of the summer months as in the 
winter time. But the trade papers and even 
the government reports still cling to the old 
system of di\4ding the packing season into sum- 
mer and winter seasons and giving the statistics 



panic of 1907, when money was so scarce that 
but very few industries were able to pay off 
their help in cash. One of the great exceptions 
to this rule was the John P. Squire Company. 
Every man in its employ received cash during 
the panic. The company's daily receipts in 
cash from its local business was enough for its 
weekly payroll, and when banks could not take 
care of their pavToU the management used its 
own cash supply. The present Squire Company 
plant covers nineteen acres of land and one 
million feet of flo<jr space. There are seven 







"ho; 






JOHN P. SQLIRE BLILDINX. 



of the two seasons in all their reports and quo- 
tations. 

The present Squire plant is a man,'cl in its 
size, cleanliness and modem equipment. 

It is a man's industr>-. There is but one 
woman and fifteen girls employed in the plant. 
The woman and girls are employed in the pack- 
ing room. All the other work of the great plant 
is done by over one thousand men, who are 
constantly upon the pay roll. 

The stability and soundness of the Squire 
Company as a New England institution was 
well illustrated during the disastrous financial 



acres used for artificial refrigeration. Four 
enormous ice machines have a capacity of seven 
hundred and fifty tons a day. ^^ im is known 
as packer town, the three great concerns in the 
neighborhood of the Squire plant, have an ice 
capacity sufficient to supply the whole city of 
Boston, if its ice men should go on strike and 
refuse to supply ice. 

The John P. Squire Company is complete in 
itself. It maintains its own machine, carpenter, 
paint, blacksmith and electrical shops and a 
box mill with a capacity of turning out one 
miUion feet of lumber a month. It has its own 



296 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



cooper shop, its own masons and plumbers and 
does all its own repair work. There is a dupli- 
cate of every part of every machine used in the 
plant constantly on hand in case of accident. 
The plant is run night and day, and Sunday is 
the only time that the huge plant is idle. 

The plant has a capacity of killing and dressing 
six thousand hogs a day, but the usual run is from 
twenty-five hundred to three thousand hogs a day. 

The selection of hogs for the John P. Squire 
Company is one of the features that have 
made its products notable for their excellence. 
Throughout the great hog-raising districts of the 
Middle West there is a brand of hogs known as 
the "Squire kind," and this means that they 
are the best that a farmer raises. He picks out 
of his herd of hogs the "Squire kind," and sends 
the rest to the great packing houses in Chicago 
in one lot. For the "Squire kind" he is paid 
a better price than he gets for other hogs, which 
are usually sold as a whole. The Company 
maintains stations along the Mississippi River 
for the collection of these hogs, which are taken 
by the train load and shipped to its plant in 
East Cambridge. 

All along the route the company maintains 
feeding and watering stations so that the hogs 
arrive at the plant prime and healthy. 

The Company distributes its products along 
the entire Atlantic Coast and the New England 
States and the Provinces. It maintains branch 
packing houses equipped with cold storage 
plants in all the large New England cities. The 
Company also does a large export business, 
sending its products to the British Isles, Norway 
and Sweden, Russia and Gemiany, Italy and 
Spain. On account of a high protective tariff 
none are sent to France. 



Mr. Squire introduced the first "Pure Food 
Bill" ever written as a law in the State of Ver- 
mont. He found that other packers had been 
adulterating their lard. He used only the pure 
leaf and he scorned adulteration. He tried to 
have his "Pure Food Bill" passed in Massa- 
chusetts, but the opposition of other packers 
was so strong that he did not succeed. He 
finally had the bill passed in Vermont, thereby 
giving that State the honor of passing the first 
"Pure Food Law." Mr. Squire spent a large 
fortune in trying to get Congress to pass a pure 
food bill in 1895, but was unsuccessful. Mr. 
Squire always insisted upon only the most pure 
of products being sent from his factory. This 
high standard has always been maintained. It 
was conspicuous how little change was necessary 
at this plant when the recent pure food law was 
passed. The only changes the company had 
to make was in a few cases where the law called 
for the percentages of different materials used. 
Its labels of "pure" were made years ago and 
had always stood. 

The John P. Squire Company is the largest 
manufacturer of sausages east of Chicago. Its 
goods are sold strictly fresh to the retail trade, 
and New England is one of the greatest sausage 
consuming communities in the world. By its 
chain of branch houses the company puts on 
the market only goods that are strictly fresh 
and perfect in every respect. 

The purity of the Squire products is open to 
any who care to see. There are no secret rooms 
in the Squire plant. In the hands of accommo- 
dating guides, men and women throughout the 
east daily visit the plant in East Cambridge and 
marvel at the care and cleanliness with which 
the products are produced. 



INDUSTRIES 



297 



One of the most notable manufacturing insti- 
tutions in Cambridge is the factory of Mason & 
Hamlin Co., located at 162 Broadway, where 
are made the celebrated Mason & Hamlin 
pianos. It is \nsited by manufacturers and 
musicians from all over the world, and has been 
called an atelier rather than a factory, owing 
to the artistic atmosphere which envelops the 
place. 

It has often been said that an organization, 
corporation or institution, just as a family. 



returned to this country in the early fifties. He 
was casting about for some pursuit and fell in 
with a young man by the name of Emmons 
Hamlin, who had been at work in Buffalo 
making melodcons. Hamlin, with a sjiark of 
genius had made a rich discoven,', namely the 
art of voicing reeds, and by this discovery 
opened up an El Dorado of tone quality for 
the instrument. With small capital Henry 
Mason and Emmons Hamlin joined forces and 
started, in 1854, under the firm name o^ Mason 











rf 










^.^ 



MASU.N & HAMLI.N. ORGAN AND PIANO FACTORY 



receives its color or characteristics from its 
head. This is strongly apparent in the case 
of the Mason & Hamlin Co. Since its inception 
in 1854, the ideals of this eminent house have 
been high and lofty. 

The founder of the House, Henry Mason, 
was a son of Dr. Lowell Mason, one of the most 
illustrious educators and pioneers in the building 
up of music in this country. HaWng graduated 
from a German University, young Henrj^ Mason 



& Hamlin, the manufacture of melodeons. 
Before long they developed the instrument into 
what has since been known as the American 
Cabinet organ, a name which they coined and 
copj-righted. In all great world expositions 
in this country* and abroad wherever these 
instruments have been exhibited, they have 
invariably received the highest possible awards 
and honors, a fact made doubly noteworthy 
when it is considered that no other American 



298 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



J 



instrument of similar kind ever received the 
highest award at any great foreign exposition. 

In 1882, imbued still with the same lofty ideals 
as to quality, they added the manufacture of 
pianos to their industry. The Mason & Hamlin 
piano sprang by leaps and bounds into public 
favor. It was greeted by musical associations, 
by the world's greatest musicians, by the most 
eminent virtuosi of the day, as an artistic in- 
strument par excellence. 

In the meantime the third generation of 
Masons, bom and reared under the same shib- 
boleth which had served their father and their 
grandfather, worked unremittingly for the 
maintenance of the highest quality in the in- 
struments produced by the Mason & Hamlin 
Co. Associated with this third generation has 
been a remarkable man, Richard W. Gertz, an 
expert in piano construction, recognized through- 
out the world as one of the greatest of all times. 
Together they have worked for a common end, 
the highest possible acme in pianoforte con- 
struction. A new system of piano construction 
was evolved, overcoming the inherent weak- 
nesses in the old systems and resulting in what 
is admittedly the finest piano the world has 
ever seen. 

In 1900 the Mason & Hamlin Tension Reso- 
nator was introduced in all Mason & Hamlin 
Grand Pianos, a device which is justly regarded 



as one of the three great epoch-making discov- 
eries in pianoforte construction, the first being 
the French action, introduced in 1821, the second 
the full iron frame and overstrung scale intro- 
duced in 1859, and the third the Mason & Ham- 
lin Tension Resonator, introduced in 1900, the 
most important of the three, as it pertains to 
tone production and permanency. Without it 
a piano gradually loses its tone; with it, its tone 
is maintained permanently with its pristine 
beauty and sonority. 

A visit to the great plant of Mason & Hamlin 
Co. will show conclusively why the Mason & 
Hamlin piano is today the highest-priced piano 
in the world, and why it is conceded to have 
gone ahead of what the world has heretofore 
seen in piano construction. 

The same principle which was in evidence 
at the inception of the Company is today at 
work with splendid energy and ceaseless activity. 
There is but one real end in view, and that is to 
make a contribution to the world's artistic in- 
struments which shall ever and ever set its 
standard higher and higher. At the head of 
the Company are men who are abreast of the 
times in matters artistic and scientific, as well 
as financial, men whose moral structures are 
such that they could not rest easy were they 
not producing results in advance of their 
fellows. 



The Fresh Pond Ice Company and Cambridge 
people are indeed fortunate in the source of 
supply at their command. The Company took 
its name from Fresh Pond in this city, the origi- 
nal source of the city's water supply. When 
ice cutting was forced off this pond the Fresh 
Pond Ice Company was compelled to seek 
another place to obtain its supply. More for- 
tunate still were the people of this city when the 
company secured rights on Lake Muscatanapus 
at Brookline, N.H., for here was found a supply 
fully equal if not better than that of Fresh Pond. 
This New Hampshire lake is situated among 
the rocks and woodlands of the Old Granite 
State, about sixty-five miles from Boston, in 
the little town of Brookline, secluded, peaceful 



and picturesque. This lake, itself fed by two 
mountain streams and innimierable crystal 
springs, gets its name from the Indians, who, 
pleased with the clearness and purity of its 
waters, called it in their language, Muscatanapus 
—The Great Mirror. 

On the eastern shore, surrounded by tall pines 
are the big white buildings of solid and enduring 
construction comprising the extensive plant of 
the Fresh Pond Ice Company. The ice is stored 
in the houses thirty tiers high, and the capacity 
of these houses is from 65,000 to 75,000 tons. 
The lake yields during an average season 150,000 
tons. 

The Company's New Hampshire plant is a 
most complete one. Order and neatness every- 



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A. H. HEWS & CO., Inc. 

MANUFACTURERS OF POTTERY 

The insert shows the original building, erected in 1765. The large picture gives a fairly accurate 
idea of the present group of buildings, though since it was made there have 

been several additions. 



INDUSTRIES 



299 



where prevail. The grounds and surroundings 
are in keeping with the rest of the plant and it 
would seem as though the sanitary and hygienic 
conditions had been the point always in the 
minds of the promoters of this vast enterprise. 
The Company owns and controls the land on 
all sides of the lake and along the banks of the 
streams which have their source in the mountains 
beyond. No mills or hamlets are allowed any- 
where near the banks, and every possible pre- 
caution is taken to insure the purity of the water. 
In fact, the Company now owns several hundred 
acres of land adjacent to the lake and rivers. 
The Company has the reputation of cutting 
the purest ice in the country, and this fact is 
admitted by experts who have analyzed and 
scientifically examined it. 

The main yards for the distribution of the 
ice and the general offices are situated on the 
Fitchburg di\4sion of the Boston & Maine Rail- 
road, a short distance above the Union Square 
Station, Somer\-ille. While the principal end 
of the retail business is carried on from the 
Somer\'ille yard, the Company's property on 
Crescent Avenue, North Cambridge, aids ma- 



terially in expediting the delivery of ice in that 
vicinity. 

The Fresh Pond Ice Company, organized in 
1882, is the outgrowth of the business established 
by Jacob Hittinger, one of the pioneers in the 
ice business of this country. He was among 
the first shippers of ice to Calcutta and the West 
Indies, but after the ice-shipping trade was 
largely transferred to other ports or supplanted 
by the ice machine, he developed an extensive 
local trade. Upon the death of Mr. Hittinger 
in 1880, his son, Thomas S. Hittinger, succeeded 
to the business. When the company was in- 
corporated in 1887, T. S. Hittinger became its 
superintendent, a position which he held until 
his death, October 26, 1904. Mr. Hillinger's 
inventive faculty and great experience in the 
harvesting and storage of ice placed him at the 
head of his profession and the Company's plant 
at Brookline, N.H., which was designed and 
perfected by him, will be a lasting evidence of 
his ability. The present officers of the Company 
are Josiah Q. Bennett, president; E. A. Daven- 
port, treasurer; H. H. Davenport, assistant 
treasurer; and E. L. Hadlcy, superintendent. 



With the development of modem civilization, 
articles which at one time were looked upon as 
luxuries, if in fact they were known at all, have 
come to be ranked among the necessities of life. 
Ice is a typical illustration of this development, 
for ice has come to be one of the primary comforts 
of the people and is regarded as a necessity not 
only in warm seasons, but throughout the entire 
year. In a large city like Cambridge the sup- 
plying of ice to its inhabitants is a no unimpor- 
tant industry'. The Cambridge Ice Company 
is one of the larger concerns engaged in the ice 
business in this city and adjacent territory. 
The Company has been in existence under one 
name or another since 1847, when the business 
was established as the Durgin Ice Company. 
It was incorporated under its present style in 
1896, with a paid-up capital of $40,000.00. J. 
E. Kimball, who is ver>' familiar with the ice 



business, has been treasurer and manager of 
the Company since its incorporation. The 
Company's office and distributing plant, stables 
and storage house are located on Cottage Park 
Avenue, North Cambridge, where there is a 
storehouse with a capacity of 40,000 tons, prac- 
tically every inch of which is made use of by 
the Company for its business. A considerable 
quantity of ice is shipped to outside points, as 
the storehouse is connected with the main line 
of the Boston &- Maine Railroad by a spur track. 
The principal part of the business of the Com- 
pany is done in Cambridge and vicinity, where 
thirty-three wagons are called into requisition. 
From seventy-five to one hundred employees 
are carried on the pay roll. 

The ice houses of the Company are located at 
Spy Pond, in Arlington, and its annual crop is 
from 30,000 to 40,000 tons. 



300 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



One of the notable modem buildings of Cam- 
bridge is the Shoe and Leather Exposition 
Building, which lends picturesqueness to the 
Cambridge bank of the Charles River. It is a 
source of self-congratulation to all progressive 
citizens that this structure has been allowed to 
remain one of the permanent landmarks of the 
city. This building is now the home of the J. 
Frank Cutter automobile industry. For about 
twenty-five years Mr. Cutter has been identified 



with the carriage and automobile business, first 
with Hugh Stewart & Company. This firm 
now is J. Frank Cutter, having been so the past 
five years. The firm has been located in the 
Shoe and Leather Exposition building since 
the first of February, 1911. The firm is one 
of the most extensive builders of Limousines 
and Landaulet bodies, automobile tops and 
slip covers, and also paints and upholsters 
cars. 



The Warren Brothers Company, the origi- 
nators of the bitulithic pavement, with its head- 
quarters in Boston, has a large manufacturing 
plant and laboratory located on Potter Street, 
this city, and employs many citizens of Cam- 
bridge, both at its plant and in its street work 
here and in Boston. 



pavements which have been laid are all in good 
condition and are a credit to both the Company 
and the City. 

Bitulithic pavement was laid on Temple 
Street in Cambridge, in 1901, and its use has 
been continued in increasing quantities since 
then. The city should be congratulated in 




PL.^.M UF WARRE.X BROTHERS COMPANY 



In the past eleven years the citizens of Cam- 
bridge have seen a number of different forms of 
pavement used on its streets, many of which 
have not been satisfactory, while the bitulithic 



ha\dng the bitulithic pavement for a number of 
its prominent streets, and the policy recom- 
mended by the paving commission of continuing 
the work along main thoroughfares is sure to 



INDUSTRIES 



301 



meet with the hearty approval of the citizens. 
The bilulithic pavement in this city is laid on a 
concrete base, the excavation and concrete work 
being done by the city with municipal labor. 

Upon the foundation is spread the wearing 
surface which is compressed \vith a heavy road 
roller to a thickness of two inches. The surface 
is made of the best stone obtainable, varying 
in size from a maximum of one-quarter inch to 
dust. The proportion of the different size of 
stone being so arranged that the finer fit into 
the interstices of the coarser, so as to reduce 
the air spaces or voids between the stones. The 
proportion used of the various sizes of mineral 
are predctennincd by physical tests, with a view 
to pbtain the smallest percentage of air spaces 
or voids in the mineral mixture and vary with 
the character and shape of particles of the stone 
in each particular case. 

After the proportions have been determined, 
the mineral material is passed through a rotary 
drj'er, from which it is carried by an elevator 
and through a rotary screen which separates 
the mineral material in several different sizes. 
The proper proportions by weight of each of 
these sizes is secured by the use of a "multi- 
beam scale," and the exact required amount 
being weighed out into a twin pug rotary mixer, 
where it is combined with the bituminous ce- 
ment accurately weighed in proper proportions. 
The mixture is then dumped while hot into carts 
and hauled to the streets, spread and thoroughly 
rolled with a heavy steam roller. Upon this 
is spread a flush coat of special bituminous 
cement, thoroughly sealing and waterproofing 
the surface. There is then applied a thin layer 



of finely crushed stone, which is rolled into the 
surface, mak-ing it rough, and thereby affording 
a good foothold for horses and a surface upon 
which automobiles will not skid. 

Cambridge was one of the pioneer cities to 
adopt this kind of construction for its streets 
in 1901, when it was first introduced, and it 
now has eighteen streets aggregating one hun- 
dred and thirty-five thousand square yards of 
bitulithic pavement. While Cambridge has 
largely increased its area of bitulithic pave- 
ment, its development in this city is much 
less in proportion than the increase of its use 
throughout the United States and Canada, as is 
shown by the following table: 

DEVELOPMENT OF BITl'LITHIC PAVEMENT 

Year Cities Square Yards 

1901 7 16,400 

1902 33 400,831 

1903 40 915,630 

1904 45 1.041,724 

1905 42 . 1.041.-^27 

1906 57 1,508.095 

1907 66 1,924,222 

1908 62 1,676,433 

1909 74 2.071,987 

1910 97 3,047,276 

1911 99 4,189.182 

1912 103 4,785,327 

(Laid and under contract July 31, 1912) 

1,285 miles roadway, .30 ft. wide be- 
tween curbs 22,618,434 

Laid and under contract July 

31, 1911 4,540,473 

Increase 1912 over 1911. .5.470 



Some twenty-six years ago a partnership was 
formed in Cambridge between George W. 
Rawson and John G. Morrison, for the manu- 
facture of hoisting engines, fertilizer dryers and 
plate iron work. At about the same time there 
was fonned in Boston a company, known as the 
Automatic Coal Handling Company, which 
controlled the Newell & Ladd Patent steam 
shovel, this being a coal-handling shovel whose 
operation was something like that of the Rawson 



shovel, the patent of which was controlled by the 
firm of Rawson & Morrison. 

The Automatic Coal Handling Company was 
succeeded by John A. Mead & Company, of 
New York City and Rutland, Vt. A working 
agreement was fonned between Rawson & 
Morrison and John A. Mead & Company, con- 
trolling the patents of these two grabs, and out 
of the development of these grabs there has 
einanated the large business of the Mcad-Morri- 



302 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



son Manufacturing Company. Up to the time 
of the formation of these two companies coal 
had been handled by the crudest methods, but 
these automatic grabs changed the entire con- 
dition of labor in the discharging of coal from 
vessels. When the first Newell & Ladd grab 
was installed at Bums Brothers, in New York 
City, it took the place of seventy men. Of 
course, any machine that could save seventy 
men to an employer would be in great 
demand. 

It was only a step from the development of 
the shovel to the development of an engine that 



Massachusetts. In 1904 the Mead-Morrison 
Manufacturing Company was incorporated and 
purchased the interests, in the coal handling 
business, of the John A. Mead Manufacturing 
Company, which had absorbed John A. Mead & 
Company, and in 1906 the Mead-Morrison 
Manufacturing Company purchased all the 
interests of the Rawson & Morrison Manu- 
facturing Company. This company has been 
most successful; it has a capital of $1,000,000, 
and at the present time has contracts on hand 
amounting to about $2,000,000. It has shipped 
its product all over the world and maintains 




MEAD-MORRISON MANUFACTURING COMPANY 



would operate this shovel. From the engine 
that operated the shovel, there naturally came 
up the question of the carrying away of the coal. 
This produced first, the cable road for carrying 
coal from docks; later the transporter for carry- 
ing coal through power houses and pockets; 
the McCaslin conveyor for carrying coal to 
boilers and taking the ashes away; the man 
trolley for carrying coal in large units, and other 
labor-saving devices for the handling of sand, 
gravel, broken stone, phosphate and other loose 
materials. 

In 1894 Mr. Rawson died, and in 1896 the 
Rawson & Morrison Manufacturing Company 
was incorporated under the laws of the State of 



offices in the large cities of the United States. 
Its machinery handles most of the coal for the 
United States government, and it has installed 
complete discharging and storage plants for 
many of the large railroads operating through- 
out the United States. The foreign business 
of the company extends to Brazil, England, 
Alaska, South Africa, and the Philippine Islands. 
In addition to the manufacture and installing 
of coal-handling machinery, the company manu- 
factures a complete line of steam, electric and 
gasoline hoists, derrick swinging machines, grab 
buckets, etc., for use in the contracting and 
quarrying business. Its shops and erection force 
employ some five hundred men. 



INDUSTRIES 



303 



The new building of the Cambridge Gas Light 
Company is at the corner of Massachusetts 
Avenue and Temple Street. The main entrance 
opens directly into a large room thirty-two feet 
by eighty-one feet and twenty-four and a half 
feet high, called the appliance room, where the 
various ajiplianccs by which gas is used will be 
on exhibition. This room is dignified in char- 
acter, the arch motive of the exterior being 
carried out on all four sides and forming pene- 
trations in the ceiling, which is vaulted. Large 



service entrance and a shipping room, which 
occupy the rear inner comer of the building 
and are accessible from Temple Street by a paved 
court covered at the inner end for protection in 
receixnng and delivering goods. This service 
entrance has an o[)ening to the appliance room. 
A "lamp room," which can be darkened for 
display purposes, completes the equipment on 
this floor. 

The mezzanine stor\' is reached by stairs from 
the business office. The directors' room is on 



-.^^^ 



'' ' r 








t <: 



HLIl.UI.NG OF THE CAMBRIDGE 



G.\S LIGHT COMP.^W AT THE CORNER OF 
TEMPLE STREET 



.MASSACHUSETTS AVE.NLE A.ND 



show windows fill one side of the room. The 
walls and ceiling are plastered, and the floor is 
marble. 

Around this large room arc grouped the offices 
and work rooms of the company. The office of 
the president and general manager, with a con- 
sultation room, is at the right. At the rear is 
the business office, with large windows and 
counters, opening directly to the appliance room. 
The cashiers' cages and a vault occupy the cen- 
tral portion of this space. A comer room on 
Temple Street, entirely shut off from the other 
rooms, is arranged for stenographers and for 
filing records. There are also on this floor a 



this floor; also, another business office and vault, 
as well as the stock, photometer and calorimeter 
rooms. Good-sized rooms for the women em- 
ployes arc pro\nded, and a rest and lunch room 
which is fitted out with a gas range and other 
kitchen appliances for thefr use. 

From the appliance roc|Ti on the main floor 
a staircase gives access to the basement, where 
it is planned to demonstrate the use of all sorts 
of gas appliances, ranges and heaters, which are 
on exhibition here as well as above. A store- 
room, lockers and a rest room for the men em- 
ployes are arranged on this floor. Space is 
pro\dded for the heating and ventilating plant. 



304 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



with a filter chamber and fan to supply the vari- 
ous offices with fresh air. The building is thor- 
oughly ventilated by the most approved system. 

When the Cambridge Gas Light Company 
began its career, over half a century ago, the 
field was limited, and great expense attended 
the manufacture of gas. But during these years 
the company has taken advantage of every new 
development to give its consumers better gas 
and service at greatly reduced prices, and today 
■satisfactorily supplies the greater part of Somer- 
viUe and all of Cambridge. 

The company was incorporated in 1852 by 
John H. Blake (the first president of the com- 
pany), Gardner G. Hubbard, Isaac Livermore, 
Charles C. Little and Estes Howe. The latter 
was chosen clerk and treasurer. 

Since its organization in 1852, the company 
has had nine presidents, viz.: John H. Blake, 
elected December 31, 1852; Gardner G. Hub- 
bard, elected August 10, 1864; A. E. Hildreth, 
elected July 25, 1867; John M. Tyler, elected 
September 3, 1877; Daniel U. Chamberlin, 
elected January 27, 1886; Quincy A. Vinal, 
elected April 12, 1897; Willard A. Bullard, 
elected July 31, 1904; Daniel G. Tyler, elected 
November, 1912, and Albert M. Barnes, elected 
January 2d, 1913. 

The first clerk and treasurer, Estes Howe, 
filled that office for thirty-five years, and was 
succeeded by Adolph Vogel in 1887. He served 
until 1897, when Albert M. Barnes, now presi- 
dent and general manager, was chosen. On 
Mr. Barnes' election to the presidency in Janu- 
ary, 1913, Mr. Vinton W. Mason became treas- 
urer. 

The present officers and directors are as 
follows: Albert M. Barnes, president and general 
manager; Vinton W. Mason, treasurer; Karl 
S. Barnes, clerk and assistant manager; Daniel 
G. Tyler, Stanley B. Hildreth, Henry Endicott, 
George A. Sawyer, Arthur C. Whitney and 
George W. Hutchins, directors. John P. Ken- 
nedy is superintendent and Theodore Erhard 
assistant superintendent. 

A few years ago one dollar per thousand cubic 
feet was the price to which consumers might 
look forward as the very lowest possible. But 
during that time the Cambridge Gas Light Com- 
pany has voluntarily reduced its rate three 
times, so that today the low rate of eighty cents 



per thousand cubic feet has placed gas within 
the means of all householders ; not only for illum- 
inating, but also for cooking, heating and many 
other uses which modem invention has made 
possible for gas. With this price goes the best 
service and attention, for the company attends 
promptly to all needs and its employes are 
courteous and efficient. 

One of the most important branches of the 
company is that devoted to the sale of gas 
apparatus of all kinds. A large department is 
given up to the display of modern gas stoves, 
heaters and other appliances. When Mr. 
Barnes became clerk and treasurer in 1897, 
there was no department of this kind. He 
gave much attention to building up this par- 
ticular branch of the business. Gas stoves and 
kindred appliances are now in use all over the 
city. Since the department was opened, over 
twenty-five thousand pieces of apparatus have 
been sold. The value of gas service in increasing 
the earning capacity of rented property is be- 
coming more and more evident to landlords, 
with the result that all the large apartment 
houses, tenements, and a number of the private 
residences in the city are now rented with gas 
stoves and gas attachments all complete. 

The active management of the Cambridge 
Gas Light Company devolves upon Albert M. 
Barnes. It is a source of much gratification 
to this gentleman to know that the company' 
has more than doubled its plant and its out- 
put since he assimied office in 1897. The 
present excellent service is in no small measure 
due to Mr. Barnes' wise management. 

Officials of the company are firm believers 
in the ability of gas to hold its own with elec- 
tricity, and immediate return on investment is 
not considered. Customers come first, and the 
wisdom of this policy is justified by sixty years 
of history. 

The Cambridge Gas Light Company plant is 
one of the best equipped in the United States. 
In 1902 the paid-up capital was $700,000, and 
today its paid-up capital is $1,440,000. 

Ingenious minds have during the past few 
years invented appHances which have wonder- 
fully increased the possibilities of gas for illumi- 
nation, and have multiplied its other uses. 
Hot-water heaters now come in all sizes, from 
a small burner that will heat the water for one 



INDUSTRIES 



305 



room to a large adair that will heat the water 
for a whole house more effectively than a stove 
or a furnace. 

All the latest appliances for heating and 
cooking by gas are on exhibition at the Cam- 
bridge Gas Company's office, Massachusetts 
Avenue, Cambridge. 

Each year since 1852, when the Cambridge 
company was incorporated, has seen an increase 
in the company's business, and within the last 
ten years it has more than doubled. A table 
for the last eight years shows the results of the 
company's policy in promoting efficiency and 
giving the best possible service to the consumer: 



Cu. Ft. siil'l Meters in Uw 

1905 440.000,000 18,413 

1906 468,550,000 19,988 

1907 533.033,000 21,545 

1908 585,144,000 22,873 

1909 A 620,594,000 24.737 

1910 669.9X3.000 26,560 

1911 717,O.S4,fXX) 28,343 

1912 762,630,000 30.286 

The company does a large business in coke, 
and has stoves especially constructed for burning 
it. Coke gives much more heat than coal, and 
as it is easily controlled with proper appliances, 
its use is constantly increasing. 



It is natural that the barrel-making industry 
should center around a locality where barrels 
are made use of in large quantities as they are 
in the various pork packing establishments, 
the sugar refinery and elsewhere in this city. 
Goepper Brothers have been making barrels 
for many years. The concern of which they 
are the head and front came into existence in 
1870, the business being started in Charlestown. 
It was transferred to Cambridge two years later. 
From a small beginning the business has de- 
veloped into an extensive and profitable one. 
In 1895 the concern was incorporated under 
Massachusetts laws, with a capital of S30,000, 
the officers being the two founders, Gusta\'us 
Goepper, president, and William Goepper, 
treasurer. Both gentlemen are directors and 
members of the investment committee of the 
East Cambridge Savings Bank, and the former 
is one of the oldest directors in the Cambridge 
Electric Light Company. Both are, and have 
been for a great many years, among the leading 
citizens of Cambridge, standing for the strictest 
business integrity and being regarded as men 
of sound judgment. 

The works of the Goepper Brothers Company 
are located on Ninth Street, opposite Spring 



Street. The plant has a frontage on the Grand 
Junction Railroad of over three hundred feet, 
giving the Company unrivalled receiving and 
shipping facilities. The main building is three 
stories in height and fifty by one hundred feet 
in dimensions. Two large storage buildings 
are two stories each, one containing 20,000 and 
the other 14,000 square feet of floor space. In 
addition, there are other structiu-es, including 
dry houses, storage sheds, office, etc. In the 
various departments upwards of one hundred 
men are employed, ^\'l^ile the Company's 
leading specialty is sugar barrels, it is in a posi- 
tion to turn out all kinds of barrels. The 
capacity of the plant is 3,000 new barrels per 
day, besides renovating upwards of a thousand 
second-hand barrels. The Company pays out 
in wages a stmi exceeding $50,000 annually. 

The business of the concern is not confined 
to Cambridge or to this immediate \-icinity, 
large shipments being made outside the state 
and to quite a distance away, in many cases. 
The Company enjoys a splendid reputation for 
the high quality of its manufactures, and the 
user of barrels who can procure his supply 
from Goepper Brothers considers himself most 
fortunate. 



INDEX 



Abbott, Edward (Rev.) 155 

Abbott. Ezra 136 

Adams, John Quincy 112 

Adams, John 63, 84 

Adams. Samuel 63 

Adams, William R 157 

Agassiz. Alexander 157 

Agassiz, Louis 115, 116, 132, 158 

Allen. Alexander V. G 134 

Allen, Frank A 159 

Allen, Oscar P 160 

Allen. Thomas (Rev.) 33 

Allen, William (Rev.) 33 

Allston. Washington 106 

Ames. James Barr 136. 161 

Andover Theological School 123 

Angier. Edmund 49 

Angier. Samuel 68 

Antinomian Controversy 15 

Anti-Tuberculosis Association 123 

Appleton. Nathan 130 

Appleton. Nathaniel 66, 68, 70, 73, 98 

Apthrop, East (Rev.) 72, 73 

Arnold, Benedict 83, 85, 86 

Arrow, Street 14, 54. 71 

Ash Street 13, 71 

Astronomical Observatory 109, 113 

Athenaeum Press 121 

Austin Hall 81 

Austin, Jonathan, L 94, 95 

Austin Street 95 

Avon Home for Children 123 



Back Lane 14 

Badger, Walter 1 162 

Bailev, Mollis Russell 162 

Baker, George P 136 

Bancroft. Hugh 164 

Bancroft, WilUam A 125, 165 

Banking 125 

Baptist Church, first 123 

Barnard, John 62 

Barnard, Tobias 62 

Barry. J. Edward 150, 165 

Bartlett. John 134 

Beal. Henrv W 167 

Beck. Charles US 

Beck Hall 55, 115 

Belcher, Andrew 48 

Belcher. Andrew. Jr 48, 65 

Belcher, Jonathan (Governor) 48, 62 

Belknap. Henry. 37 

Belhngham, Richard 27, 30, 36 

Bird. Henry M 168 

Binney (now Cambridge) Field 146 

Bishop's Palace 73, 83. 91. 99 

Blackstone. William 11 

Blanchard. Marshall F 168 

Blue Anchor Tavern 48, 72 

Boardman, Aaron 49, 66 

Boardman. Andrew 49, 66, 70 

Boardman. William 34 , 49 

••Body of Liberties" ■ 39, 44 

Boggs. Edwin P 272 

Bolles. Frank 136 

Bond. William Cranch 113 

Borland. John 72, 73, 83 

Boston 11, 12, 14 

Botanic Garden 91, 113, 120 

Bow Street ; 14, 71 

Bowdoin, James 63 

Bowers. Benanuel S3 

Boylston Hall. 48, S3 

Boylston Street Bridge . : . . 14 

Boylston Street. .13. 47-49, 73, 80, 102 

Bradburj'. William F 169 

Bradish, Ebenezar 70, 73 

Bradish. Isaac 73 

Bradstreet. Simon 11, 12, 27, 48. 56 

Braintree Company 13, 14, 21 

Braintree Street 13,21 

Brandon. Edward J 171 

Brattle Street 71, 75, 80, 97, 142 

Brattle Square 13, 73 

Brattle. Thomas 61, 65 

Brattle. Thonias. the younger 83 

Brattle. WilHam (Rev.). ..S9. 60. 65, 66, 73 
Brattle. WiUiam (Gen.). .70. 73, 78, 79,81, 

83.84 
Brattle. William Jr 65 



Brewster. Nathaniel 37 

Briggs. LeBaron R 136 

Brooks. John Graham 136 

Browne & Nichols School 122, 280 

Buck. Silas E 171 

Bulfinch. Charles 99 

Bulkley. John 36 

Bulkley, Peter 26. 36 

Bull. Ole 130 

Bullard, Willard A 173 

Bunker Hill. Battle of 84, 85 

Burgoyne. General 83, 91 

Butler Hall 73 

Cabot. Andrew 92. 93 

C^ambridgfc 14. 16. 44 

Cambridge Bridge 147 

Cambridge. East, 14, 46, S7, 70. 89, 93, 96. 

120. 121 

Cambridge Farms 46 

Cambridge Gas Co 125, 303 

Cambridge Hospital 144 

Cambridge Meeting House 79 

Cambridgeport 15. 46. 93, 95, 117, 120 

Cambridge Savings Bank 286 

Cambridge Village 46 

Cambridge Unitarian Parish 123 

Canal, 94, 95 

Captain's Island 13, 88, 123, 146 

Carey, Arthur A 174 

Carstein, Hans L 1 74 

Carty, John J 267 

Central Square 94 

Channing, Edward T 113, 136 

Charles River II. 12 

Charles River Basin 145 

Charles River Parkway 147 

Charlestown 10. 1 1 . 13 

Chauncey. Charles 53, 54. 66 

Chesholm. Thomas 47. 49 

Child. Francis C 132. 134 

Christ Church 72, 73, 82, 123 

Church. Benjamin 89 

Churches 123 

City Charter granted 117 

City Government 142 

City Hall 76, 126 

City Home 144 

Clark. Alvin & Son 121 

Clark, Edward E 179 

Clark Road 98 

Clarke, -Augustus P. (Dr.) 177 

Close. George 180 

Clough, Arthur 128 

Cobble Hill 87 

Coddington, William ; .... 27 

Cogswell, Edward R.. (Dr.) 181 

Cogswell. Francis 181 

Colbum. William 19 

Coleman, Benjamin 62 

College Library 63, 64, 100, 120 

College Yard 14, 31, 48, 99 

Clommencement, The first 35, 38 

Common, Cambridge. . . .13, 15, 73, 86, 87 

Comstock, Hiram M 182 

Concord Avenue 73, 94 

Cook, Samuel 69 

Cooke, George 47, 49 

Cx>oke, Joseph 47, 49 

Cooper, Benjamin 91 

Cooper's Tavern 81 

Copps Hill 14 

Corlet. EHjah 51, 66 

Cotton. John. 14. 17. 21, 22, 26. 28. 30. 42. 

43. 44 

County Buildings 96 

Coveney. J. W 182 

Cox. George Howland 1 83 

Cox. James V 183 

Craddock. Matthew 19. 20 

Craigie. Andrew 93. 96. 106 

Craigie Bridge 93 

Craigie House 93 

Craigie Road 98 

Creek Lane 13 

Crocker. John F 183 

Cromwell. Olivei , 17, 27, 35, 38, 47, 49, 

54, 55 

Cunningham, Henry 185 

Cunningham, T. E. (Dr.) 185 



Curry. S. S 187 

Cutter Company 300 

Cutter, John 90 

Dallinger, F. W 188 

Dam. The 147 

Dana, Francis ((ihief Justice), 92, 93, 94, 

95. 102 

Dana Hill 49,73,87,92 

Dana. Richard 33 

Dana. Richard 70. 73 

Dana. Richard Henry 97, 119, 128, 132 

Dana. Richard H 189 

Dana . Stephen 91 

Dare Hall 52, 109 

Dana Street 73 

Danforth, Nicholas 55 

Danforth. Samuel (Judge). .66. 70, 79,83 

Dantorth, Thomas 52, 54, 55, 56 

Dankers. Jaspar S8 

Davenport, John 30 

Davis, Charles H. .(Admiral) 134 

Davis. William M 136 

Daye. Stephen 34. 49, 66 

Deane. Charles 134 

Deitrick. Frederick S 269 

Denison. Arthur E 191 

Dexter, Henry 192 

Dickens. Charles 130 

District Nursing Commission 144 

Dodge. Theodore. (Col.) 134 

Doody, M. J. (Rev.) 136 

Downing, George. . ' 35. 36 

Dudley Family 16 

Dudlev. Thomas (Governor) 11-13, 15, 17, 

20, 25, 30. 3i. 35. 37. 39. 43. 47. 48 
Dunster. Henry. 34. 35. 37. 48, .SI. 53, 55, 66 
Dunster Street, 13. 24. 29. 47. 49. 81. 83 
Durant. William B 193 

East End Christian Union 123 

Eaton. Nathaniel 30. 31, 33 

Eighth Church of Christ 12 

Elevated Railroad, Boston 125 

Eliot, Charles 145 

Eliot, Charles W 136, 193 

Ehot, John 23,26,33,54,55 

Eliot Street 13, 94 

Elmwood 75, 103,130 

Elmwood Street 13 

Embargo Act 95 

Embankment Co.. Cambridge 146 

Emerson. William 87 

Endicott. John 19, 39 

English High School 122. 126 

Ensign-Stratton 25 1 

Episcopal Theological School 123 

Eustis. William 63 

Evacuation of Boston 89 

Everett. Charles C 1 36 

Everett, Edward. 92, 103. 104. 1 10. 1 12. 122 



Fairbain. John R 195 

"Fair Harvard" 104 

Farra. John 10.5 

Farwell. Levi 102 

Fay House 103. 123 

Fayerweather. Thomas 75 

Felton. Cornelius Conway 110. 113. 130 

Field. Cambridge 123 

Field Lane 14 

Fire Department 144 

First Church 10, 11, 19,36,47, 123 

First Parish Church 97, 123 

Fiske, John 119, 121, 132, 134. 196 

Fitch. Jabez 68 

Fitchburg Railroad 120 

Fitzgerald. Michael E 198 

Fletcher. Ruel E 199 

Flynt. Henry 63. 68 

Fogg Art Museum 120 

Folsom. Charles 136 

Fort Washington 88 

Fox. James A 200 

Foxcroft. Estate S6. 105 

Foxcroft. Frank 201 



INDEX 



307 



Frankc. Kuno 1 36 

Franklin. Benjamin 86 

Franklin Street 87 

Fresh Pond 122 

Fresh Pond Parkway 147 

Frost, Gideon 90 

Fuller House 123 

Fuller. Margaret 97. 106 

Fuller. Timothy 1 06 



Gage. Thomas (Gen.) 63. 78. 79, 80. 84. 88 

Gallison. Henry Hammond 202 

Gannett. Caleb 104 

Gannett. Ruth (Styles) 104 

Gannett, Thomas (Rev.) 99 

Garden Street 14, 66, 73, 75 

Gardner, Richard 70 

Gardner, Thomas (Captain) 77, 79, 81, 84, 

90 

Gates, Horatio 85 

Germanic Museum 203 

Gerry, Elbridge 75. 103 

Gilman. Samuel (Rev.) 104 

Ginn. Edwin 120. 203 

Ginn & Company 121, 290 

Glidden. Walter S 204 

Glover. John 82. 86. 87 

Goepper Brothers. . 305 

Gone. William 54. 55 

Goffe. Edward 51, 52, 72 

Goodnow, Joseph 272 

Goodwin . William Watson 205 

Gookin, Daniel 26, 47, 54. 55, 70 

Gookin. Nathaniel 54, 65. 66, 73 

Gore Hall, 14, 1(» 

Grand Junction Freight Track 1 20 

Gray, Asa 113. 132 

Great Bridge The. 14. 46,5 3, 80.81,93,94, 

147 

Greco, Charles R 270 

Green, James D 119 

Green . Samuel 49 

Greene. .Nathaniel 84, 86. 87 

Gridley. Richard 86 



Hale. E. B ..271 

Hammond. John Wilkes (Judge) 206 

Hampden. John 19, 33 

Hancock. John 63, 64, 70, 79, 84 

Hancock Street 14 

Hannum. Leander M 206 

Harlakendcn. Roger. 14, 22. 23. 30. 47. 48. 

49. 66 

Harris. Wilfred Ernest (Dr.) 208 

Harrison. Colonel, of Virginia 86 

Hart. All>ert B 136 

Harvard. John 21. 32. 33. 34 

Harvard College. IS. 26. 30. 37. 38. 48, 49. 

51. 66. 91, 92. 94. 104. 108 

Harvard Familv 32 

Harvard Hall 58. 59. 63. 65. 75 

Harvard Square 13. 48. 49. 71. 75 

Har\-ard Street 49, 54 

Harvard Trust Co 282 

Hastings House ! . ! ! , 84 

Hastings, Jonathan ,70, 75 

Hastings. Walter 55 

Haynes. John 21, 25. 47. 48 

Hayward. James 105 

Heath. Wm. (Gen.) 82, 86, 87, 89 

Hedge, F. H. (Dr.) 113 

Hedge. Levi 112 

Hicks. John 81 

Higgins. J. J ! .209 

Higginson. Stephen 105 

Higginson. T . W 97. 105. 209 

High and Latin School 143, 144 

Hilliard, Timothy (Rev.) 98 

Hoar, Leonard 54 

Hodges, George (Rev.) ! ! ! ! ! 130 

Holden. ^I.^dam 59 

Holden Chapel ! ! 75, ioo 

Hollis. John 121 

Hollis. Thomas 61 

Hollis Hall 63. 75. ioo 

Holmes. Abiel (Dr.) 99. 104 

Holmes. John 121 

Holmes. Oliver Wendell (Dr.). .68. 75. 210 

Holworthy Hall 99 

Holyokc. Edward 62. (>i. 65. 69. 70 

Holyokc. Margaret 63 

Holyokc House 31 

Holyokc Pljice 14 

Holyokc Street 13. 14. 20. 49. 51. 54 

Homes (or Aged People 123 

Hooker. Thom.is (Rev.) 13. 14. 16. 21. 22 

23. 24, 27, 44, 45, 48, 52 



Hooker-Shepard House 73 

Hopewell. John in 

Hospital Cnurch 123 

Houghton. Henry 119. 212 

How.ird. George H 212 

Howe. Archibald M 215 

Howe. Estes 119 

Howells. William Dean lib. 132 

Hubbard. Gardner 119 

Hubbard . Thomas '.*.!!'.. 75 

Humane Society ^. 123 

Humphrey. John ^to' 20. 30 

Hurd. Roger 2IS 

Hurd. Theodore C. ... 216 

Hutchinson. .\nne 15. 27,42. 43. 44. 52 

Hutchinson. Thomas (Gov.) 76 

Hutchinson. William ! . .42 

Inman. Elizabeth (Murray) 73 

Inman. Ralph 73, 83. 93 

Inman House 92 

James. Henry 132. 134 

James. Henry Jr 132. 134 

James. William 132, 134 

Jarvis. Leonard 132, 134 

Johnson. Edward 12. 31 

Johnson. Isaac 11. 19 

Jose. Edwin H 2I6 

Kelley. Stillman F 216 

Kendall. Edward 217 

Kingsley. Chester W 217 

Kirkland. John Thornton 108. 109 

Kirkland Street 13, 55 

Kirman. John 12. 13 

Kno.x. Hcnr>' (Gen.) 86, 88. 89 

Lafayette (Marquis dc) ;0 

Lake. Charles H 219 

Langdcll. Christopher C 136 

Langdon. Samuel 65. 84 

Laud. Bishop 21, 22. 26 

Leavitt. Erasmus D 219 

Lechmerc. Richard 71. 75 

Lechmcre House 75. 83 

Lechmerc 's Point 80. 89 

Lee. Chark-s (Gen.) 85, 87 

Lee, Joseph (Judge) 71, 75, 79. 83 

Levcrett. John 59, 60. 61. 65. 66 

Lexington, Battle of 80. 81 

Lincoln. Benjamin 86 

Lincoln. Earl of 17. 18 

Linden Street 13 

Linnacan Street 14. 75 

Linzee. John 83 

Locke. Benjamin 81 

Locke. Samuel 65 

Lockhardt. William L 220 

I-ockwood. Edmond 12. 13 

Longfellow. Henry Wadsworth 72. 225 

Longfellow House 103 

Longfellow Park 1 52 

Lowell. Abbott Lawrence 222 

Lowell. Charles (Rev.) 75 

Lowell. James Russell 30. 57. 75. 223 

Ludlow. Roger 11 

Lynch. Thomas 86 

Mahonev. John J 224 

Mclntirc. Charles John. Oudge) 225 

McKcan. Joseph 103. 1 13 

McKcnzic. Alexander (Rev.) 226 

M.-»in Street 94 

Manning House 103 

Marcy. William Pierce. . 34 

Marks. Jeanette Peabody 136 

Marsh Lane 13 

M.ason Street 13. 73 

Mason & Hamlin Co 297 

NLissachusctts Avenue, 13, 31 36, S3, 66. 

75. 81. 94. 98. 142 
Massachusetts Bay Company 19. 28. .19, 

41, 42 
Mas,sachusetts Constitutional Convention, 

91 

Massachusetts Hall 59. 63. 73. 100 

Mather. Cotton 15. 16. 19. 21. 25. 34. 52. 

53. 61. 62. 68 

Mather. Increase 56. 59. 60, 65, 68 

Mather. Richard 26. 36. 44 



M.-: . ..jel J7 

.Me«(l-.VIurn5/jn Co 301 

Mcdford Street '.'.'.'.'/' 94 

Meeting-Houxa 24, J|, S7,Yo,'m.'9» 

Memorial Hall ggi 

Menotomy Rood 1!I"!!!!73 

Middlesex Turnpike ' ' '94 

Mifflm. Thomas (Msjor) .75, M 

Mitchell. Jonathan 37, 57. SJ. 66. 68 

Montague. Samuel L. 227 

Moore. Josiah ,. '.m 

Morgan. Daniel [] ,(5 

Mor*e, Ana Porter ] 227 

Mt. Aulrum Cemetery 116 

Mt. Auburn Street. 13. 24. 48. 49. 54 73 
96. 98 

Munr'x-, Witlhim Adams 228 

Munsterl>erg. Hugfj ' ' ] 135 

Mu^^eum of Comp.\rativc Zoolosy, lis, 116 

Muzzey. Artcmus 109 

Myers. James JcQenon ^229 

Neck. The 14 

Newell ,..,'.'.'. 24 

Newell. Increase I i . 191 . 27 

Newell. William (Rev.) 99 io3 

Newell. William W ..134 

New England Confederation 44, 45 

New Road 95 

Newtowne. 12. 14. 23. 24. 3o! 33,° 40. 43 

NichoLs John T. G. ( Dr.) 229 

Nolen. John ! . . * 229 

Norris. Forris W '.'.' 231 

Norton. Charles Eliot 128. 132, 231 

North Avenue Savings Bank 2H7 

Oakes. Urian 54. 66. 73 

O'Brien. John (Rev.) 134 

Old County Court House 102 

Old Road 97 

Oliver Estate ] . !92 

Oliver. James '.'.'.'. .71 

Oliver. rhomas(Lt.-Gov.). 65. 72. 75. 79. 83 

Otis. James 53 

Overseers of Har%-ard College, Board of, 

established 37 

Overseers of the Poor 144 

Oxford Street 14. 55 

Paige. (Dr.) 52 

Piiine. Henry W 1|9 

Palfrey. John G S2, 110. 132 

Palfrey Estate 14 

Palmer. George H 136 

P.-irkcr. Edmund M 232 

Parkhurst. Lewis 233 

Parks andplaygrounds 123 

Parsons. Tneopnilus 132, 136 

Patrick. Daniel 12 

Pavs.)n Park 122 

Pcabcdv. Andrew P. (Rev.) 99, 132 

Pealj.Aly. Francis G. (Rev.) 136 

Pclh.-un. Herbert 48. 49 

Pelh;uTis Island 48. 94 

Pcrrv. Bliss 136 

Peters. Hugh 26, 30, 34. 35 

Phillips. John (Rev.) 55 

Phips. David 72. 73. 79. 83 

Phips. Sjxncer 70. 71. 72. 73 

Phijxs Farmhouse 92 

Phips-Winthrop House 99 

Pickering. Timothy 63 

Pine Swamp Field 14 

Plavground Commission 149 

Pinned Hill 87 

Plymouth Colony 24 

Pl>Tnpion. Sylvanus 83 

Police Department 144 

Poole. John 12. 13 

Popkin. John S 112 

Prentice 70 

Prescott, William 84,87 

■Printcrv-." The 49. $S 

Prr.fc-isors Row 97. 98 

Prospect Hill 87 

Proudfool. DaWd A 234 

Public Library 144 

Puln.im. Israel 82, 86. 87 

Puln.im. Rufus 86 

Putnam Avenue 87 

Pynchon. William II, 19. 27 



Quincy. Josia!-. 
yuincy Street 



.1. 102. 109. 110 
. .49 



308 



A HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 



RadcUffe College 103. 123. 277 

Raymond, George J 235 

Read Homestead 91 

Read. John 236 

Read. William 91 

Reed Hall 123 

Reemie. Marcus 97 

Remington. Jonathan 72 

Remington. Jonathan. Jr 66. 72 

Reser\'oir 122 

Richards. Theodore W 136 

Richardson. Edwin T 126 

Richardson. James P 81. 126 

Richardson. Moses 75. 81. 126 

Riedesel. (Baron) 91 

Rindge. Frederick H 126 

Rindge. Field 123. 146 

Riverside House 123 

Riverside Press 119 

Rogers. John 58. 68 

Rolfe, William J 134 

Roman Catholic church, first 123 

Roseber>-. W. Guy 239 

Royall. Isaac 71. 72. 83, 84 

Royce. Josiah 136 

Russell. George 72. 75 

Russell. Jason 81. 91 

Russell. John (Rev.) 55. 91 

Russell. J. Henry 240 

Russell. William 65 

Russell. William E 126 



Sackett, Simon 12, 13 

Sales. Francis 13 

Saltonstall, Gordon 65 

Saltonstall. Henry 36 

Saltonstall. Richard (Sir) 11. 18. 19. 33. 

36. 39 

Sargent, Dudley A.. (Dr.) 241 

Sa\vin, Moses M 243 

Schools 122. 143 

Scudder. Horace E 120. 134 

Sergeant. Charles S 244 

Serjeant. Winwood (Rev.) 72 

Semitic ^luseum 120 

Sewall. Jonathan 75 

Sewall. Joseph 61 

Sewall. Samuel 43 

Shaler. Nathaniel S 136 

Shepard. Margaret 22 

Shepard. Samuel 23. 47 

Shepard. Thomas 14, 16. 21. 23. 26. 30, 48, 

49, 52, 54, 66 

Shepard Congregational Church 99 

Shepard Congregational Society. . .99. 123 

Sluvter. Peter 58 

Smith. Chauncey 119 

Smith, William B 245 

Smith House 102 

Social Union 123 

Somers. John E., (Dr.) 246 

South Street 13 

Sortwell. Alvin F 246 

Sortwell. Daniel R 247 

Sparhawk, Nathaniel 48 

Sparks, Jared 103, 110. 113. 123 

Sparks Street 71 

Spencer. Charles W 249 

Spencer, General 86 

Spencer, William 12. 13 

Squire. John P 249 

Squire, John P. Co 121.294 

Stadium, The 148 

Stark, John 82. 86 

Starr. Comfort 37 



Steams. Asahel 105. 130 

Stedman. Ebenezar 70. 73 

Stetson. Henry C 250 

Stevens. Edmund H.. (Dr.) 250 

Stillman Infirmary 144 

St. John's Memorial Chapel 123 

Stone. Samuel 2 ) , 23. 27 

Story. Joseph 110. Ill 

Story. William Wetmore 97 

Stoughton. Israel 30 

Stoughton, WiUiam 59 

Stoughton Hall 59. 63. 75. 94 

Street Railways 119 

Subway. Cambridge 126 

Sullivan (Gen.) 85 

Sumner. Charles 130 

Sutton. R. W 254 

Swan. William B.. (Dr.) 255 

Symmes. Zachariah 26. 33 

Taussig. Frank W 136 

Technology. Mass. Institute of 126 

Telephone Company 125 

Temple. Robert 72 

Thatcher. Samuel (Capt.) 81. 90 

Thayer, James B 136 

Thayer. Joseph Henry 136 

Thayer. William R. ...:.. 135 

Thomas. John 86. 87 

Ticknor. George 110 

Tilton, Benjamin .* 255 

Tilton. Frederick W 256 

Toppan. Robert N 271 

Tory Row 7S 

Tracey. Nathaniel 93 

Trowbridge. Edmund 70, 72 

Trowbridge. John 136 

Trowbridge. Lydia 73 

TrumbuU. Jonathan 63 

Universalist church, first 123 

University Hall 99, 101 

University Press 121 

Union Railway Company 119 



Vane. Henry (Sir) 15. 26. 27. 30. 43 

Vassall. Henry (Col.) 70, 71, 72, 73. 75. 83. 
85 

Vassall. John 71. 75 

Vassall. John Jr 71. 72, 83 

Vassall. Samuel 19 

Vassall. William 14 

Vassall Estate 93 

Vassall House. 83, 85. 86, 89, 92, 93, 103 

Vassall Lane 14 

Vaughan, Benjamin 256 

"Village." The 97 

Wadsworth. Benjamin 60, 62, 66 

Wadsworth House 59. 73, 85. 99 

Walcott. Henry P. (Dr.) 258 

Walcott. Robert 258 

Waldo. Cornelius 75 

Walker. James 109, 110. 113 

Walton. John 75, 81 

Walton, Jothan 81 

Ward, Artemas (Gen.) 63, 75, 79. 82. 84. 87 
Ward. Nathaniel 20. 24 



Wardwell. Walter C 259 

Ware. Henry (Dr.) 105 

Warren. Joseph 63. 70, 79, 105 

Warren Brothers Co 300 

Washburn . Emory 136 

Washington. George (Gen.) 85. 89. 91. 92. 
93 

Washington. Martha 82. 85 

Washington's Headquarters 85 

Watch House Hill 52 

Waterhouse. Benjamin (Dr.) 104 

Waterhouse Street 73. 104 

Waters, Henry F 32 

Watertown 11. 13, 19 

Water Works 121 

Webber. Samuel 66. 102 

Webster Avenue 94 

Weld, Thomas 26, 30 

Wellington, Austin C (Col.) 260 

Welhngton. (Dr.) 261 

Wells, Henr>- 262 

Wells. William 103 

Wendell. Oliver 104 

West Boston Bridge 92. 93 

Western Avenue 94 

West Field, The 14 

Whalley, Edmund 54. 55 

Wharton, Francis 128 

Wheelwright (Rev.) 43 

White. John 41 

Whitefield. George (Rev.) 68, 69 

Whitney. Josiah D 136 

UTiitney, William L 262 

Whitemore. Samuel (Capt.) 91 

Whitemore, Samuel (Deacon) 91 

Widener, Harrj' Elkins 273 

Widener Librar>' 273 

Wigglesworth, Edward 62, 69. 70. 73 

Wigglesworth. Edward Jr 73 

Willard. Joseph 91 . 92 

Willard. Samuel (Rev.) 60. 65, 66 

Willard. Sidney 110. Ill, 119 

Willard's Hotel 101 

WiUiams. Roger 25. 42, 52 

Wilson. John (Rev.) 11, 15, 26. 30. 36, 43, 
55 

Wind Mill Hill 13 

Windsor Street . . . . , 94 

Winship, Jason 81 

Winsor. Justin 134 

Winter Hill 87 

Winthrop, John (Gov.) 10. 12. 15. 19. 20, 
21, 25. 26. 27. 30. 31. 32. 33. 35, 39, 42, 
43, 44, 45, 48 
Winthrop. John (Prof.) 62. 64. 70, 79, 83 

Winthrop Hall 123 

W^inthrop Square 48, 73 

Winthrop .Street 13, 73, 81 

Woodbridge. Benjamin 35 

Woolson. James A 264 

Woolson House. The James A 123 

Worcester. Joseph E 134 

Wveth. Benjamin F 265 

Wyeth. Jacob 107 

Wyeth. James 107 

Wyeth. James H 266 

Wyeth. Nathaniel 107 

Wyeth. Street 14 

W\Tnan . Jabez 81 

W>-man. Jeffries 115 

Wvman. John P 266 



Young Men's Christian Association. ... 123 
Young Women's Christian Association. 123 



THE TRIBUNE wishes to thank the following for the loan of cuts: Mrs. Isabella James Gozzaldi, Mr. 
Edward J. Brandon, City Clerk, Houghton, MifHin & Co., Little, Brown & Co., Ginn & Co., and the Cambridge 
Hospital. 



H 77 78 






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